Jose Mourinho hopes to have Ricardo Carvalho available for selection on Sunday at Everton but has admitted the game is coming too soon for Carlo Cudicini.

 

Keeper Cudicini has missed three games since straining a leg muscle against Bolton whereas Carvalho has been able to play through an ankle problem that has lingered on for three weeks.

 

That was until Mourinho decided to withdrawal the defender from the second-half of the last game as changes were made to force a win over Newcastle.

 

'Carlo is improving, but not ready,' the manager told Chelsea TV ahead of the trip to Merseyside.

 

'Joe Cole is out, John Mikel is almost good but still out and Ricardo is a possibility to play.'

 

Mikel is coming back from an ankle hurt in training. Cole, as announced at the beginning of the week, is resting to recover from a stress fracture in his foot.

 

Despite a run that has seen them score only four goals in their last eight games, Mourinho refuses to accept Everton won't test his team's defence on Sunday.

 

'They have good attacking players and I don't think David Moyes is the kind of guy just to defend. They attack you. They are a dangerous teams.

 

'We are not scoring a lot of goals for what we produce,' he added. 'We have a lot of chances. The posts are against us.

 

'I think one day we have to score more goals.'