Chelsea calm De Bruyne concerns

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has played down fears over Kevin De Bruyne’s fitness after he was injured in Sunday’s 4-1 win over a Malaysia XI.

The Belgium international suffered a knee problem in the pre-season encounter in Kuala Lumpur after falling awkwardly while volleying home his side’s second goal.

The 22-year-old was taken off on a stretcher – with initial concerns over possible ligament damage – but Mourinho was quick to deliver an upbeat prognosis.

“When he was on the floor and asking for a change everybody thought the worst, but the first assessment by the doctor is that (it is not) ligaments,” said the Portuguese.

“And if it’s something in the meniscus it has to be a very small injury, so we believe it is not an important injury and hopefully it isn’t because the kid is a fantastic player.

“(He is) a kid, but a man on the pitch. Hopefully it’s nothing important and he will be ready soon.

“The doctor wants to do some control tomorrow, and after tomorrow if necessary he will go to London.

“But the doctor’s feeling, and I trust him a lot because he is very experienced, is that it’s nothing important and during the next week here he can recover.”

De Bruyne signed for the club from Genk on a five-and-a-year deal in January 2012 but has yet to feature for the first team after being loaned to Bundesliga outfit Werder Bremen last season.