London: Out-of-favour goalkeeper Petr Cech will not leave Chelsea in January and has nothing to prove ahead of his first Premier League start of the season against Hull City, manager Jose Mourinho said.
The Czech international had been Chelsea's number one for the last 10 years before Thibaut Courtois, who returned from a loan at Atletico Madrid, took his place at the start of the season.
There has been mounting media speculation that Cech would leave Stamford Bridge during the January transfer window in search of first-team action.
Mourinho, however, wants Cech to stay and is backing the 32-year-old who regains his position in place of the injured Courtois.
"I don't think it's possible (that Cech will leave)," Mourinho told a news conference on Friday. "I read a couple of weeks ago his agent saying there was no chance of him leaving Chelsea in January.
"That, plus the fact that I have no information about any offer to him, makes me believe 100 per cent that he's staying.
"We played Petr already in three Champions League matches and every game in the League Cup. He doesn't need to prove something. It's just a simple situation for him. Go and play, which is what he wants to do.
"It's his natural habitat to be in goal, not on the bench. It's very comfortable for me, for the players, for the fans to know our goalkeeper on Saturday is Petr Cech," Mourinho added.
After suffering their first defeat of the season, 2-1 at Newcastle United last weekend, Chelsea will also be without suspended playmaker Cesc Fabregas as they look to get back to winning ways at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho, whose team lead the table by three points with 36 from 15 games, believes they will cope with the absentees to continue their excellent form.
"Cesc (Fabregas) has been amazing for us but he's suspended for tomorrow so we don't think about him. We trust the other players," he said.
"We are playing very well in almost every game, there hasn't been one bad performance. We cannot do any more than we are doing."
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