Aston Villa v Chelsea: Fernando Torres is 'much, much better', says Jose Mourinho, and could play this weekend

Torres was injured in the warm-up to the win over Tottenham

Fernando Torres celebrates scoring the winning goal for Chelsea against Manchester City (GETTY IMAGES)

Fernando Torres could be included in Chelsea's squad for Saturday's Premier League match at Aston Villa as the striker's groin injury is not as bad as first feared.

Spain striker Torres withdrew from the starting XI ahead of last Saturday's 4-0 defeat of Tottenham after feeling the problem in the warm-up, with his replacement Samuel Eto'o scoring the opening goal and Demba Ba netting twice off the substitutes' bench.

Scans have revealed no severe damage and Torres could feature at Villa Park or in Tuesday's Champions League last-16 second leg at home to Galatasaray.

"Fernando is much, much better," manager Jose Mourinho said.

"Maybe I take him tomorrow. Maybe I don't take him and I try everything for Tuesday."

Mourinho believes Torres might have played on had he felt his groin during the contest.

The Chelsea boss, who is without defenders David Luiz (groin) and Ashley Cole (knee) on Saturday, added: "It was only a little thing, but when you feel that little thing before the game you don't play.

"If you feel during the game, maybe the adrenaline and the temperature of your body maybe you go through it and you play."

Chelsea could go 10 points clear of Arsenal and Liverpool, who enter the weekend in joint-second place and each play on Sunday, but Mourinho maintains the table is not accurate.

"You look at the table and if you have just the number of points, the table is fake, because before the number of points is the number of matches," Mourinho added.

"We could have 30 points more than them and 10 matches more. It means nothing.

"When everybody has the same number of matches - I don't know when this is going to happen, maybe in the last week of competition - is when the table is real."

For Mourinho Manchester City, who have three games in hand and are nine points adrift, are the title favourites.

Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure believes Mourinho "talks more than before" and accused the Portuguese of being disrespectful by discussing other teams.

Mourinho insists his comments on Arsenal and City prior to their Champions League matches this week were only made out of support.

He said: "If supporting the teams from the country where I am and where I work, if this is lack of respect, okay.

"I don't think this is lack of respect. This is support.

"The same way I say Man City has three matches in hand and they are capable of winning all three matches to become top of the league, if that is lack of respect, he has a strange concept of lack of respect."

PA