Maurizio Sarri insists he hasn't taken a huge gamble with Eden Hazard's fitness by including him in Chelsea's squad to face BATE Borisov on Thursday night.
Hazard has been included on the 2,300-mile round trip to Belarus for the Europa League group game despite having only just returned from a back injury.
The Belgium international made his comeback as a substitute against Crystal Palace on Sunday having sat out the previous three matches.
Sarri was considering allowing the 27-year-old to stay behind in London just like he did for the club's previous away game in the competition against PAOK Salonika in September.
But after consulting with Chelsea's medical department, the manager decided to take him after all.
“For our doctor, there is not any risk otherwise he would have stayed in Cobham," he told reporters. "We thought that it's better for him to play.
"He won't do so for 90 minutes, but it's better to play after two weeks without playing.
"In the last match, he played only for 30 minutes. For us, the best work for him is that he will play for 45 or 50 minutes tomorrow.”
Sarri has decided to rest Alvaro Morata, David Luiz, Marcos Alonso, Antonio Rudiger and Victor Moses, while Cesc Fabregas has been ruled out with a fever.
Morata has scored five goals in his last six appearances but Sarri feels letting him train in Cobham is the best way for the Spaniard to maintain his current form.
He added: "He played three matches in a row, so I thought it was better for him to stay and rest and to have two good training sessions.
"It's better for him and more easier to stay fit with two or three training sessions than only with matches.
"It's normal for a player to play three or four matches and then rest. Otherwise, we can have a squad with 13 or 14 players.
In Pictures | Chelsea vs Crystal Palace 04-11-2018
"Sometimes it's better to actually rest than always play. Sometimes the players need to train on some specific things, to work on physical qualities, instead on other things they don't have to.
"If they only play, they will lose that physical quality that they need. This is proved scientifically. In 21 days.”
Giroud, who has been ruled out with a leg injury of late, is set to lead the line.
