Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo ruled out Daniel Sturridge for the English Premier League clash against Stoke City, but revealed Oscar was fit to play.
Sturridge picked up a hamstring strain before the Blues' champions League game against Juventus while Oscar had to be substituted after having his foot trod on in the 2-2 draw.
"Sturridge is better but not quite ready for tomorrow," Di Matteo said. "We'll have to assess him, if he doesn't make the Capital One Cup (against Wolverhampton Wanderers), it shouldn't be much longer.
"Injuries can happen to any player, we go into the game not thinking about injuries.
"Oscar has recovered. He did some light training so should be fine. It was a spectacular debut and we hope to see it more often.
"We'd seen his quality in training but it was great to see it in a big game against brilliant opposition, we're delighted to have him here."
Stoke are never an easy proposition for any team in the Premier League, and Di Matteo agreed the Chelsea would have to be at their absolute best to come away with all three points at Stamford Bridge. "Stoke haven't been involved in a game this week, which we need to take into consideration," he said.
"It's always a difficult game against them and we have found it hard to break them down. It's not just due to their physical approach, they are very well organised defensively as well.
"Michael Owen is a natural goalscorer, he's a very good signing for Stoke. I was a bit surprised as he's not very tall, like a lot of their players, but he's still very dangerous and I'm sure they will benefit from his qualities."
The Italian manager said he was happy to see his new signings, particularly Eden Hazard, settle into the squad quickly. "We've been able to integrate our new signings into the team and been able to find a good balance between attacking and defending," he said.
"We want to improve all the time, play good soccer, win some games and, at the same time, be solid at the back.
"When a team creates chances it's a healthy team, and we created very good chances against Queens Park Rangers - when we didn't get a penalty - and we did the same against Juventus.
"We're trying to change the way we play, for sure, but it's not like we are completely open. We need to remain focused and keep the attention high for an entire game.
"Hazard and Mata have found a very good understanding from the start. Some players just click naturally and are on the same wavelength.
"They haven't trained together for a long time because of the summers they had. That's why in five or six weeks' time, when they've had a bit more time together, they will be able to work even better on the pitch."
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