Cole's contract expires in the summer, and while Mourinho has assured the 32-year-old he does not need to worry about winning a new deal, he may well have to accept that he will no longer be guaranteed a place when he is fully fit.
Ashley Cole has been promised a new Chelsea contract by manager Jose Mourinho, but he will not be given any guarantees he will be the club's first-choice left-back.
Cole returns to Chelsea's starting line-up for the Champions League clash against Steaua Bucharest on Wednesday.
He has been struggling with a rib injury and has not started a Chelsea game since last month's 2-0 defeat at Newcastle, with right-back Cesar Azpilicueta being preferred on the left. Cole's contract expires in the summer, and while Mourinho has assured the 32-year-old he does not need to worry about winning a new deal, he may well have to accept that he will no longer be guaranteed a place when he is fully fit.
He will already be well aware Chelsea are big admirers of Southampton left-back Luke Shaw. "Naturally, Ashley will get his contract because he's a valuable player for us," said Mourinho. "Sometimes, even if you're not playing every game and are not first choice, like Ashley always was, I don't think it means you are not deserving of a new contract.
"I feel Ashley is fine and I think tonight he's going to show he's fine. Naturally, with the evolution of the season, he will play matches. Can he recover or not 100 per cent his position? I don't know, but he will always play games." With his England place also under threat from Leighton Baines and Kieran Gibbs, Cole will have to consider whether it would be beneficial to his Chelsea career to retire from international duty after the World Cup.
Mourinho believes Cole is an important member of the Chelsea dressing-room and squad, whether or not he is playing. "I know Ashley well," said Mourinho. "It's easy to feel he's not happy or not comfortable with the situation while he doesn't play. But the way he behaves and trains, he is super professional as always. "When he's on the bench behind me, I can feel he's there to win even if he's not on the pitch. He's a fantastic guy and he has the full respect of me and all the players."
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