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Champions League: Ruben Loftus-Cheek gets Chelsea chance as Jose Mourinho rests John Terry and Eden Hazard

Dejected Chelsea players Eden Hazard and John Terry walk off the pitch following their team's defeat at Newcastle
Image: Chelsea: Eden Hazard and John Terry rested against Lisbon

John Terry and Eden Hazard will be given the night off on Wednesday when Chelsea host Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.

Jose Mourinho's side are already guaranteed top spot in Group G, and the manager will take the opportunity to rest some players in the wake of his side's first defeat of the season at Newcastle on Saturday.

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Mourinho's pre-match press conference

Terry, Hazard and Brazilian forward Willian all sat out training at Cobham on Tuesday and none of the three will be involved on Wednesday, but Diego Costa will start the game.

Teenage midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek is in the squad and will feature at some stage, and the academy product was selected to face the media alongside Mourinho on Tuesday.

Terry, Willian and Hazard are on holidays. I would like to give the whole squad the time off but these three play all the time.
Jose Mourinho

He said: "I've been at the club since I was eight so to be involved and training with the first team means a lot to me. We've got some good talent coming through, it won't be easy to make the breakthrough but we have to be positive.

Opportunities

"All the young players are excited to be getting opportunities and we're confident in our ability to do well."

Mourinho confirmed he is planning to include Loftus-Cheek in the first-team squad on a permanent basis from January.

More from Chelsea V Sporting

He said: "I am so happy to give the kids a chance. He is an English player, 18, completely made in Chelsea. If he succeeds it's good.

"Terry, Willian and Hazard are on holidays. I would like to give the whole squad the time off but these three play all the time and I have good solutions for these positions.

Live UEFA Champions League

"We have so many matches to play in December and we are one of the few teams in the Premier League that also plays the Capital One Cup in this moment. Of the other teams involved in the Champions League only Liverpool is also in the Capital One Cup.

"Everybody has periods to rest we don't have. This game gives me the chance to rest these three players. We had already the fifth yellow card to Diego (Costa), the fifth yellow card to Matic and now the fifth yellow card to Fabregas, which give them a rest.

"Step by step match after match we are trying to find a little period for them to breathe and to face this second part of the December month."

Chelsea v Sporting is live on Sky Sports 1 from 7.30pm on Wednesday.

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