Mikel boost for Chelsea against Galatasaray

After two days of worries, Chelsea have received a triple injury boost ahead of their Champions League last 16 clash with Galatasaray on Wednesday with news that Mikel Obi, David Luiz and Oscar are all in Jose Mourinho’s squad  list for the match in Istanbul.

Luiz and Mikel missed Saturday’s 1-0 win against Everton through injury, while Oscar was substituted at halftime because of an ankle complaint. Mikel’s  state is also a major concern for Nigeria as the country prepares to face Mexico in a friendly match next week.

Mourinho was able to call on the trio for the first leg encounter with Roberto Mancini’s Galatasaray as the club revealed that the players have travelled to Istanbul, Goal reports.

The Blues face the Turkish Super League champions in the Turk Telecom Arena but will be without January signings Nemanja Matic and Mohammed Salah, who are both ineligible to play, having featured in the tournament with their former clubs earlier this season.

Chelsea topped their group, pipping Schalke to top spot with a record of four wins and two defeats from six games. Galatasaray, meanwhile, sneaked into the knockout phase, eliminating Juventus by defeating the Italian champions 1-0 in the final group game.

Mancini is counting on former Chelsea forward  Didier Drogba, as well as Wesley Sneijder for the first leg contest.

 Before the latest Stamford Bridge news on the status of the players, Mourinho had told reporters on Saturday that it was a wait-and-see game for the club until they get their final medical reports.

“We have three days so let’s see,” Mourinho told reporters after the Everton game. “With Mikel and David Luiz, I don’t know if they can recover. It’s important we have at least one of them because we don’t have Matic for the Champions League.”

On the  Brazilian Oscar, he said, “It’s not a dangerous one, just a painful one.”

 “He said he could cope with the situation, clearly he could not. Ramires had a situation similar to Oscar’s, I tried to protect him and not play him but the game demanded I play him. Clearly, though, he could cope with the situation.”

In a another development, Kenya was chosen to host the 2018 African Nations Championship, the biennial tournament for home-based footballers, by the Confederation of African Football on Monday.

They will become the second successive country from east and central Africa to stage the three-week championship as Rwanda are the 2016 hosts.

Libya won the third edition in Cape Town in February, defeating Ghana on penalties after a goalless final.