Diego Costa missed Chelsea's Community Shield defeat to Arsenal and is a doubt for their Premier League opener against Swansea. Pornchai Kittiwongsakul
Diego Costa missed Chelsea's Community Shield defeat to Arsenal and is a doubt for their Premier League opener against Swansea. Pornchai Kittiwongsakul

Harry Redknapp: Chelsea’s league title defence could be derailed by Diego Costa fitness



Premier League champions Chelsea’s season could be in trouble if striker Diego Costa is unavailable for long, former Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp said.

Spain striker Costa, who injured his hamstring during the preseason and missed Chelsea’s Community Shield loss to Arsenal, is a doubt for Saturday’s Premier League opener against Swansea City.

“If Costa is injured a lot and is going to be missing, that’s the scary part — can they (Chelsea) get away without him?” Redknapp, who quit as Queens Park Rangers manager in February, said on his official Twitter handle on Tuesday.

“If Costa does pick up injuries, and it seems his hamstring isn’t great at the moment, one of (Loic) Remy and (Radamel) Falcao has got to carry the baton and do the job and whether they can is the question mark.”

The 68-year-old Redknapp resigned from QPR in February with the club second bottom of the Premier League. They were relegated at the end of the season.

“Maybe Falcao can do the job, Jose’s placed his faith in him,” Redknapp said. “Jose (Mourhino) can lift people and improve people and if he can get the best out of him maybe they’ll be OK.”

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @NatSportUAE

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKinetic%207%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rick%20Parish%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Clean%20cooking%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self-funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog

Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar

Nationality: Emirati

Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology

Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels

Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs

Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends

TRAP

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue

Director: M Night Shyamalan

Rating: 3/5

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Abtal

Keep up with all the Middle East and North Africa athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics

      By signing up, I agree to The National's privacy policy
      Abtal