Striker suffered groin injury against Maribor on TuesdayJosé Mourinho had feared a two week lay-off‘We will see with the scan. I don’t think it’s too bad’

Loïc Rémy remains hopeful that he will be fit to play against Manchester United on Sunday despite José Mourinho saying that he expects the Chelsea striker to be unavailable after he suffered a groin injury in their 6-0 win over NK Maribor in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

Mourinho also said that Diego Costa is out with the hamstring injury that has caused him to miss the past two matches and Didier Drogba would be Chelsea’s only senior forward for the trip to Old Trafford if Rémy’s injury turns out to be more serious than he suggested after the match against Maribor.

Rémy started against the Slovenians in the absence of Costa but felt a tweak in his groin early on, before signalling that he could not continue immediately after opening the scoring in the 13th minute. He was replaced by Drogba three minutes later and the Ivorian went on to score his first Chelsea goal since returning to Stamford Bridge in the summer.

Mourinho said that a muscle injury would normally keep a player out for a couple of weeks but Rémy was not moving with any obvious discomfort afterwards and was optimistic about his chances of featuring against United.

“We will see with the scan,” Rémy said. “I really hope it is not too bad. Fortunately I stopped playing because I felt something. I don’t think it is too bad but I felt something. My groin.

“Yes, it’s frustrating of course because I had a chance to play because Costa is injured but I am not afraid. I don’t think it is really bad. We will check and I really hope to play again this weekend.

“It is a huge game but every game is tough. Especially this one because it is a big game against a good opponent but I will try to recover as quickly as possible.”

Rémy confirmed that he could already feel that something was wrong before his goal. “No, before that, it was a bit stiff, even my run and I didn’t feel very comfortable,” he said. “That’s why I prefer to come off but for me I have to care about myself and if I’m not feeling very good it’s better to leave for another player who is 100%.”

If Rémy is sidelined against United, then it is likely that Dominic Solanke would be on the bench again after Mourinho gave the 17-year-old striker his Chelsea debut as a late substitute against Maribor.