Hot Chelsea doctor planning possible legal action against the Blues

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Chelsea’s suspended club doctor, Eva Carneiro, is preparing legal action against the club. The 41-year-old has not worked for the Premier League champions since coming on the pitch – against the wishes of manager, Jose Mourinho – to treat Eden Hazard on the opening day of the season.

Mourinho, who did not think Hazard seriously injured enough to be taken off, has not permitted her to attend the club’s training centre at Cobham or the team hotel.

Carneiro and the club physio, Jon Fearn, who has also been suspended since the 2-2 draw with Swansea, are anxious to return to their place on the Chelsea bench. It is a place Carneiro has occupied since Andre Villas-Boas appointed her head doctor four years ago. The case is due to be reviewed by Fifa’s medical committee on Friday.

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If no offer of reinstatement from the club is forthcoming, she is likely to issue legal proceedings against the club and it is understood sexism could form a key part of her case. She alleges that Mourinho referred to her as “a secretary” in his post-match comments.

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To Mary O’Rourke, a QC and one of the country’s leading legal authorities on sports injuries, Mourinho’s remarks could only be regarded as sexist. She represented the Harlequins club doctor, Wendy Chapman, in the Bloodgate scandal and pointed out that while the club coach, Dean Richards, is now back in rugby, Chapman has not worked in the sport since. She is very anxious the same does not happen to Carneiro.

Speaking at Manchester’s Soccerex Convention, she said: “Ninety-five per cent of secretaries are women. Everyone listening to that would have taken it as a comment that women don’t know anything about football. If you put that statement out to 100 people, 99 of them would interpret it the same way.”

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