Jose Mourinho has admitted he took a risk by not playing Eden Hazaard against Schalke – but the Chelsea boss insists he now considers the incident over.
The Belgium international was dropped for the west London side’s midweek Champions League clash against the Bundesliga outfit after missing training on Monday.
The 22-year-old failed to return to the club’s Cobham training ground after travelling to France to watch his former side Lille play on Sunday night.
Mourinho felt that he had to drop Hazard to send a message to his Blues squad and confirmed the Belgian missed his train after misplacing his passport.
“He reacted well because he apologised to me and the club,” said Mourinho. “Of course the apology was not accepted it’s something I couldn’t accept – but it is over.
“He’s selected and he’s ready to play. I hope he has appetite to play because he loves to play football and I didn’t allow him to play the last game.”
He continued: “It was a bit of a risk not to select him for the last match speaking in terms of pure football.
“He is a player who can help us win a very important match for us. Sometimes you have to take the risk if you feel the consequences are very important for the group.
“It’s over. No more consequences. The consequences were not to play which is the worst thing that can happen to a player. It’s over and he’s a very good kid.”