Eva Carneiro arrived at the London South Employment Tribunal in Croydon this morning for a preliminary hearing in her constructive dismissal case against Chelsea.

The former Blues doctor was accompanied by husband Jason De Carteret for the proceedings and declined to speak to reporters gathered outside the venue.

Carneiro, dressed smartly in a long grey coat and charcoal dress, looked focused as she breezed past the assembled media and entered the building.

This preliminary hearing and is expected to be in private before an employment judge and will fix the timetable for the case, and deal with witness statements and disclosure of documents - including texts and emails - by each side, as well as any legal procedural disputes that current exist between the two parties.

A date for a full hearing could be fixed for some time in June but there may be another preliminary hearing arranged before that takes place. The parties may also agree to a settlement before the case is heard.

Chelsea filed their defence in the case last month. Carneiro also has a separate personal legal action against former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho , who left the club in December, for alleged victimisation and discrimination.

Eva Carneiro and head physio Jon Fearn (L) treat Chelsea's Belgian midfielder Eden Hazard
Chelsea's defender John Terry (C) sits on a stretcher accompanied by team doctor Eva Carneiro (L)
Petr Cech (C) leaves the pitch accompanied by team doctor Eva Carneiro (L) due to an injury

The 42-year-old doctor was dropped from first-team duties after Mourinho criticised her and the first-team physio Jon Fearn for going onto the pitch to treat Eden Hazard on the opening day of the season.

The action meant that Chelsea were temporarily down to nine men against Swansea, and afterwards Mourinho called Carneiro and Fearn "impulsive and naive". Carneiro did not appear on the bench again for first-team duties and later parted company with the club.

Mourinho was cleared of using discriminatory language towards her following an investigation by the Football Association. Afterwards, Carneiro and the FA's independent board member Dame Heather Rabbatts criticised the governing body for not interviewing the doctor as part of its investigation.

Carneiro has also had backing from FIFA's medical chairman Michel D'Hooghe, who contacted the doctor to offer his support and that of the world governing body. He has backed Carneiro's insistence that she was simply doing her job.

Timeline: Jose Mourinho's season from hell at Chelsea

Time Line

Timeline: Jose Mourinho's season from hell at Chelsea

  1. Eva row


  2. Terry subbed


  3. Costa row


  4. Roman dare


  5. Referee abuse


  6. Electronic tag


  7. Hazard warning


  8. Mourinho meltdown


  9. Capital One Cup exit


  10. Halloween horror show


  11. Stadium ban


  12. More woe at Stoke


  13. Bib row


  14. Shocked by Cherries


  15. Last game in charge


  16. End of the road


poll loading

Were Chelsea right to sack Mourinho?