Chelsea hit by Falcao setback as Hiddink hits back over Garde’s Remy loan hint

Chelsea’s Radamel Falcao faces weeks of rehabilitation and fitness work after a relapse in his recovery from a thigh injury over Christmas.

Radamel Falcao’s ineffective loan spell at Chelsea has endured yet another setback after the Colombia forward suffered a relapse of a thigh injury that is likely to rule him out until the end of January.

Falcao, who is on a season-long arrangement from Monaco but has scored only once and made a solitary start in the Premier League to date, has not featured for the London club since the home defeat by Liverpool at the end of October. The interim manager, Guus Hiddink, hoped the injury sustained initially on the eve of Chelsea's Champions League tie against Dynamo Kyiv in November had cleared up last week only for the 29-year-old to suffer a relapse in a practice game at Cobham over Christmas.

That has in effect left Falcao back at square one, with weeks of rehabilitation and extensive work on his fitness ahead. “It’s the inside of his thigh and it’s the same now as it was before,” Hiddink said. “He’s having treatment at the moment but he cannot appear on the pitch. He was out and our medical staff tried to build him up but he had the setback, which is not a positive signal. We hope within 10 days he might be fit again but not to play. No.”

Chelsea were always expected to review Falcao’s loan arrangement with Monaco in January – Hiddink claimed there has been no formal contact as yet – particularly with the French club in need of reinforcements to bolster their own ranks, but the London club have made it clear that another of their strikers, Loïc Rémy, will not be made available in the window.

The Aston Villa manager, Remi Garde, went public on Wednesday to claim he would attempt to secure his compatriot on loan, describing Remy as a "special"player.

Swansea City, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace have also been monitoring the striker’s potential availability. With Chelsea only three points clear of the relegation zone, however, and with Diego Costa having proved inconsistent this season, Hiddink will resist the departure of a player who has made only seven league starts since joining from Queens Park Rangers at the start of last season but who is currently suffering from a calf injury.

"First of all, it’s important, in the situation Chelsea are in, that we have the most powerful squad possible," said the Dutchman, who appeared less than impressed with Garde’s eagerness to make known his interest.

"He’s our player and you have to respect where the players are. If you are interested, talk first to the people with whom they are contracted. You cannot go into details [at a press conference] but the player has signed a contract here and must be fit for us first. He’s having a difficult time regarding his injuries. He has to prove first of all that he’s a good Chelsea player."

Remy – who has scored three goals in 14 games this season – is not expected to be fit for Sunday’s trip to Palace, although Costa will return from a one-match suspension for that game at Selhurst Park. Villa’s urgency to add to their ranks is clear, given an 18-match run without a win in the Premier League stretching back to the campaign’s opening day. Garde has yet to win a game since succeeding Tim Sherwood and his team are 11 points below 17th-placed Swansea. The manager worked with Remy while assistant manager at Lyon.

"Loïc is a guy I know well, of course it would be an interesting player for the team," he said. "He is part of some players I’ll try to attract to Aston Villa, for sure. Loïc is a special one because he knows the country and the league. I have got some targets who could be at this level without knowing the country and the league. I have to work with the players I have currently but if you don’t achieve that too much and you can bring in players with more confidence and with a lot of experience, it could be helpful for the team."