Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has admitted that his side are "in trouble" due to their tight schedule and their growing injury list.
The Blues travel to the New Meadow stadium in Shropshire on Tuesday to face League two side Shrewsbury Town in the fourth round of the Capital One Cup, after only a day's rest following their 1-1 draw at Manchester United on Sunday.
And Mourinho admits that the Blues are in a very tight spot especially with the likes of Diego Costa, Loic Remy and Ramires on the sidelines due to their respective injuries.
"I have only one day, we travel to London and we are travelling to Shrewsbury. We are in trouble because we have so many injured players," the Portuguese told the Guardian.
The former Real Madrid boss insists that Shrewsbury Town will not be an easy opponent considering their recent run of form in League two, where they are currently fourth.
"It is even more difficult for us to go [away]," he added. "We have to go. We now have a difficult match. Because they are doing very well in their league and doing very well against superior teams in the Capital One Cup. It's a big day for them. We know it will be difficult for us. But that's football."
The 51-year-old boss dismissed speculations of him looking to field a weak team against Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday, insisting that "every game is important."
"Every game is important. Shrewsbury is not a friendly," said Mourinho. "We have to play matches with respect and the best way to respect Shrewsbury is to go there with a good team. Not to go there with a weak team and lose."
Meanwhile, Mourinho, despite confirming that Costa was hospitalised with a stomach virus, revealed that the Brazil-born striker missed out Chelsea's trip to Manchester United due to his hamstring injury.
"The virus is fine," Mourinho revealed. "It was hard when Costa went to hospital and obviously it doesn't help to recover from the injury.
"But he didn't come [to Old Trafford] because of the injury, not because of the virus. He aggravated the hamstring because he played two matches in three days [for Spain] and was not with us."
Right after their clash against Shrewsbury Town, the Blues play host to Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, before travelling to Slovenia to take on NK Maribor in the Champions League on 5 November.
And after only three days, on 8 November, the Blues have an away Premier League fixture against Liverpool.
