José Mourinho has insisted he still has respect for Frank Lampard, although the Chelsea manager did admit he was “not expecting” to see his former player join Manchester City on loan.
Lampard left Stamford Bridge in the summer after 13 seasons to sign for the new MLS side New York City. However, the former England midfielder then signed a short-term loan deal with Manuel Pellegrini’s side – like New York City, owned by Sheikh Mansour – and is in contention to start against his former club on Sunday.
“It’s football. If you’d said that four or five years ago, I would have said it was strange,” said Mourinho. “Even a few months ago, when he signed for the New York team, I was not expecting this. But it was his decision. It’s life. When he left for New York, I thought he was going there. But it’s his life, his decision, and he has my respect for that.”
Diego Costa will return up front against the Premier League champions as Mourinho tries to manage the striker’s fragile hamstrings. Mourinho opted to select the Spain striker, who has scored seven times in four Premier League matches this term, only as a substitute in Wednesday night’s 1-1 draw with Schalke in Champions League Group G.
The £32m summer signing from Atlético Madrid is not ready to play more than one game a week, according to Mourinho, after a hamstring problem recurred while on international duty earlier this month.
“Everybody’s ready to play,” Mourinho said. “Diego is not in the best conditions, but he will start the game. He plays this game, he cannot play against Bolton. It’s as simple as that. I know clearly that we have to try to protect him until he gets completely fit.”
The City trip is the first of four key domestic fixtures in Champions League weeks for the Blues, who will hope to swiftly find a solution to Costa’s niggle. The trip to Sporting Lisbon is followed by a home clash with Arsenal, Manchester United away follows the Maribor home tie and a date at Liverpool is immediately after the trip to Slovenia.
“In this moment I don’t have this problem,” Mourinho said. “He plays Sunday, doesn’t play against Bolton, he plays against Aston Villa Saturday,” he said, referencing Chelsea’s Capital One Cup tie next Wednesday and the following Premier League game.
“In this moment decision made. Let’s see his evolution, let’s hope he comes in the right direction and becomes available to play every game.”