Jose Mourinho reported at his pre-match press conference this morning that Ashley Cole has not yet recovered from the lateral ligament injury he picked up prior to the visit of Spurs two weeks ago and remains out injured for tomorrow’s game against his former club.
The manager was able to bring more positive news regarding Marco van Ginkel, who has travelled to the North-West with our Under-21 squad ahead of their clash with Manchester United tonight. He will play some part in the game, his first competitive action since suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in our Capital One Cup victory at Swindon in September.
Mourinho received an FA charge on Wednesday following events towards the end of our loss to Aston Villa in our last Premier League outing.
‘I don’t accept the charges,’ he explained. ‘I have a meeting on Monday and I have to make my defence privately, not with you. For you it is enough to know for obvious reasons I don’t accept the charges.’
More to follow…