Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois may return against Bournemouth after knee lay-off

• Goalkeeper sidelined for nearly three months but now back in full training
• Diego Costa expected to feature in Premier League game

Posted Friday, December 04, 2015 by theguardian.com

Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois may return against Bournemouth after knee lay-off
Thibaut Courtois established himself as Chelsea's first-choice goalkeeper last season after three years on loan in Spain.

Chelsea are confident of welcoming their first-choice goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, back into the starting lineup against Bournemouth on Saturday after almost three months in rehabilitation following knee surgery.

Courtois’ last appearance for the Premier League champions was in a 2-1 home defeat by Crystal Palace in late August, with the Belgian damaging the meniscus in a knee in training the following month. He underwent an operation in Barcelona and has been in a period of recovery ever since but, having initially been pencilled in to return in mid-December at the earliest, has trained fully this week without feeling any significant discomfort in the joint.

Asmir Begovic has performed well in Courtois’ absence but Jose Mourinho would consider his first-choice goalkeeper’s return a boost after his exploits last season when the 23-year-old impressed at the club following three years on loan in Spain at Atlético Madrid.

The manager sees no value in putting Courtois on the bench if he is fit and is anxious the goalkeeper, who has made only four starts for Chelsea this season and was sent off in their Premier League opener, gains game-time before Wednesday’s decisive Champions League group game against Porto at Stamford Bridge.

The club will conduct a series of checks on Courtois – the goalkeeper had played in two wins for Belgium in qualification for the European Championship in September just prior to sustaining the injury back at Cobham – on Friday to ensure he is fully fit before throwing him back into the fray. The intention is there, however, for him to feature against Bournemouth, who will arrive in south-west London in the bottom three and with the joint worst number of goals conceded in the top division.

Diego Costa, who was dropped to the bench at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and made his frustration obvious on the sidelines, is still expected to feature at the weekend, even though he was photographed, along with his team-mates Ramires and Kenedy, leaving the London nightclub Libertine at about 3am on Thursday morning.

Despite the club’s poor form this season – there has actually been a slight upturn in the last three games, in which Chelsea did not concede a goal and were unbeaten – Mourinho is understood to have sanctioned a Christmas night out for his players on Wednesday. The entire first-team squad duly dined in a restaurant together before moving on to two nightclubs, with almost all leaving for home in the early hours. Costa and his team-mates all reported on time on Thursday and trained fully, completing the side’s session.