Drogba Has Successful Operation On Elbow

Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba has undergone a successful operation on his fractured elbow although his team did not say whether he would be able to play at the World Cup.

"The necessary surgical intervention has been a success," the Ivory Coast football federation said on its website (www.fif-ci.com) on Saturday.

The federation added that medical staff was confident Drogba would make "a rapid recovery" but did not elaborate.

The 32-year-old striker was injured during Friday's 2-0 friendly win over Japan in Sion.

Drogba, a talismanic figure for the Elephants with 43 goals in 67 appearances, limped off after a challenge from Tulio sent him falling awkwardly to the ground after 15 minutes.

If he misses the World Cup it would be a huge blow to the Ivorians, who have been transformed from a middle-ranking team to a major force in African football since Drogba came on to the scene.

Born in Ivory Coast and raised in France, the Chelsea forward has helped them qualify for their first two World Cups in 2006 and 2010.

He was Premier League top scorer this season as Chelsea won the title from Manchester United.

Last Friday, vice-captain Kolo Toure said a dejected Drogba had told team mates in the dressing room he was out of the tournament, which starts on Friday.

"It's obviously very sad, for him he said that the World Cup is finished, we're just waiting for what the doctor says," Toure said.

But coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said as he left the stadium there was still a chance Drogba could play.

The Ivorians, who are holding a training camp in Saanenmoeser in the Swiss Alps, face Brazil, Portugal and North Korea in World Cup Group G.

Chelsea Announce They Want Joe Cole To Stay

Chelsea have announced they are willing to fight to keep Joe Cole at the club despite increasing interest from a number of other Premier League clubs.

The England midfielder is available to leave the club on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of June and has been attracting interest from a number of clubs including Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham.

Chelsea had been rumoured to have withdrawn their offer of a new contract and turned their attention to signing Liverpool’s Israeli international midfielder Yossi Benayoun as a replacement.

But Chelsea assistant coach Ray Wilkins told BBC Radio 5 Live that contrary to the rumours suggesting otherwise, the West London club are keen for Cole to extend his stay.

"We've obviously been in dialogue with Joe for months now and it's pretty evident that Carlo and myself would love Joe to stay but it's down now to the club to see what we can do.

"We sincerely hope Joe stays with us - he's a smashing guy and he's a wonderful footballer so we'll keep our fingers crossed."

Chelsea Consider Shock Move For Newcastle United Youngster Andy Carroll

Chelsea are considering an audacious move for Newcastle United youngster Andy Carroll. The Stamford Bridge outfit is on the look out for new up and coming options as Carlo Ancelotti plans for the future whilst dealing with a somewhat aging squad.

Having captured the likes of Ross Turnbull and Daniel Sturridge last summer the club is continuing to look for promising ‘homegrown’ players and are rumoured to be impressed by the 21 year old’s performances with the Magpies last season and with Chelsea’s main attacking options, Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, both being over 30 years of age the west London side is keen to bring in new signings.

Carroll finished top scorer at the Toon Army last season with 19 goals in 35 starts as he helped Chris Hughton’s side to the title. However the Gateshead born England Under-21 international has had a few run ins during his time coming through the ranks at St James’ Park, most notably coming to blows with Newcastle defender Steven Taylor.

Should a bid be made by the Premier League champions it seems highly unlikely that Mike Ashley would accept knowing that doing so would further anger supporters who already enjoy a rather spicy relationship with the club’s owner.

Arsenal Set To Beat Out Manchester City And Sign Chelsea Midfielder Joe Cole

With captain Cesc Fabregas keen to move to Barcelona this summer Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is looking to bring Cole in to help strengthen the Gunners, who have not won a trophy since 2005, according to the Daily Mail.

Both Arsenal and City were believed to be apprehensive to sign Cole due to the Englishman’s £100,000 a week salary demands.

Contract negotiations between Cole and Chelsea have stalled and with the 28-year-old’s current deal set to expire, the midfielder will be a free agent this summer.

Cole believes that he is deserving of a lucrative contract because the club that he would join would not have to pay the £10million transfer fee that he would be worth in the open market.

The former West Ham United midfielder and his family would prefer to stay in London, and after struggling to break into Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti’s first team this season it appears that Cole is on the verge of a move to the Gunners.

Wenger will have around £30 million, plus the amount that Arsenal receives from Barcelona for Fabregas, and the Frenchman could use a portion of that transfer money to bring Cole to the Emirates.

Joe Cole: It's Just Fantastic To Be Back For World Cup

Joe Cole’s second England coming has given the Chelsea star the goosebumps.

Two seasons ago talk of such an outstanding talent not being part of England’s World Cup plans would have been ridiculous.

But the Cockney charmer has been to hell and back following cruciate knee ligament damage in an FA Cup game at Southend 18 months ago.

With Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti also appearing to lose faith with Cole, his international obituary was being written. In fact, Cole’s ambitions of travelling to South Africa rested on what amounted to a critical 45 minute audition on a rainy afternoon in Austria last Sunday.

Cole, 28, proved his qualities and is now in Rustenburg.

He enthused: “Seeing my name on the back of an England shirt on a peg in the dressing room gave me the goosebumps. It means so much playing for England. It is like a second coming. I’m really enjoying my football again.” So Cole is smiling once more after being given the No 11 shirt.

“Before I was looked upon as a regular with 50 caps. Now I’m looking at the England shirt on the peg again. Fantastic. I hate answering questions on the injury. All I want to do is to play in the World Cup finals and help us win it.”

Cole To Get £4.5 Million Divorce Payout?

Singer Cheryl Cole is set to receive a £4.5 million payout when her divorce Ashley Cole is finalized, according to reports.

The Girls Aloud hitmaker walked out on the sports star earlier this year following allegations he cheated on her with four women.

Cole reportedly asked for a quick divorce when she started proceedings last month. She was said to be prepared to allow her former partner keep their marital home in Surrey and not demand any financial support.

But now it has emerged the singer will receive a lump sum from Cole when the divorce is finalized later this year reports The Sun.

A source tells the publication, "He can't believe she will walk away with nothing. She worked as hard as him for their possessions."

Cole will reportedly be granted a decree nisi in early August with the divorce set to be completed six weeks later.

Lampard Retains Penalty Belief

England midfielder Frank Lampard says he will not shirk from his penalty taking duties at the World Cup finals.

Doubts had emerged over Lampard's position as England's premier spot-kick taker after the Chelsea star saw an effort saved in the friendly win over Japan.

Reports had indicated striker Wayne Rooney had tried to oust his team-mate from the responsibility, but Lampard refuted such suggestions.

Lampard also missed a penalty in the Blues' FA Cup final against Portsmouth, uncharacteristically dragging his effort wide.

But the 31-year-old said he would remain in charge should his side be awarded a penalty, insisting he still retained belief in his ability to hit the net.

"Wayne hasn't made an issue of it. Actually, he hasn't said anything. No-one has," said Lampard.

"I heard the manager had said I was still the penalty taker and I am happy with that. I still have the confidence. It is a fact of life that you can miss occasionally.

"I missed in a friendly, which was a little reminder. I will practise them here and go back to basics a bit.

"Despite what has happened I am very confident with myself. I have the inner strength to take it on the chin. When I pick up the ball I believe that I will score."

Lampard's attempts to fire England to glory will be done with the tournament's controversial 'Jabulani' ball, which has come under criticism from various players in the build-up to the campaign.

The altitude of some of the matches in South Africa has also added to the perceived difficulties facing the competition's hopefuls, however Lampard believes it will not prove to be problematic.

He did, however, join the many to voice their opinion on the much-maligned ball, saying the flight could cause extremes between successful strikes and misses.

He said: "The altitude won't be a problem. In terms of the breathing and how it saps your energy, I haven't noticed too much difference to Austria.

"There is a bit of heat out here as well but we will become accustomed to that and it won't be an issue."

On the ball, he added: "But the ball moving around will be an issue because it moves a lot more. The goalkeepers will tell you that.

"You can see it when you strike the ball. There are going to be a lot more spectacular goals and could even be a lot more spectacular misses with the way the ball moves about."

Stoch & Ivanovic Saturday Winners

Chelsea's Eastern European representatives at the World Cup, Miroslav Stoch and Branislav Ivanovic, both enjoyed victories in their final games on home soil before departing for South Africa.

Slovakia were 3-0 winners over Costa Rica on Saturday afternoon, Stoch starting the game on the left wing and playing 77 minutes before being replaced by Erik Jendrisek. The Chelsea man had a part in the first goal having gone close to scoring himself early in the game.

The big news of the game was the ankle injury suffered by Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel, which makes him a doubt for the World Cup. Slovakia's goals were scored through an own goal, Robert Vittek and Stanislav Sestak

Later in the day Ivanovic played the full 90 minutes of Serbia's win although it wasn't the best of evenings for his side's defence. They shipped three goals, coming from behind twice to beat Cameroon 4-3.

Serbia were without Nemanja Vidic and suspension made Samuel Eto'o unavailable for Cameroon. Former Chelsea player Geremi came on for Cameroon at half-time.

Milos Krasic, Dejan Stankovic, Wolves's Nenad Milijas from the penalty spot and Marko Pantelic were the Serbian scorers, all in a first-half that ended 4-2. The African side pulled another back on 67 minutes but the Europeans held on for a welcome victory after a warm-up defeat by New Zealand and a draw with Poland.

Summary Of A Season: Petr Cech

In a season when one of his greatest predecessors, Peter Bonetti, earned a special recognition award at Chelsea, Cech further enhanced his own reputation with a solid season and a major contribution towards a first Premier League and FA Cup Double.

It started in perfect fashion with two penalty saves in the shootout against Manchester United, sealing the Community Shield in Carlo Ancelotti's first game in charge, and was followed by seven straight wins.

A mistake at Stoke was highlighted, however, when he failed to make his mind up on a Glenn Whelan cross, allowing Abdoulaye Faye to head home, and was followed a fortnight later by a red card, the first of his Chelsea career at Wigan in our first defeat of the season.

Suspended in the 2-0 win over Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, he returned to the side at Villa Park but again came under scrutiny - two goals conceded at set-pieces, the second after he had missed another cross - as we suffered successive away defeats.

He bounced back to concede just two more in the next eight games as we entered the Christmas period on top of the league, and while a calf injury at the San Siro prevented him from participating in our Champions League second leg defeat against Inter, causing him to miss five games, he returned for the run-in and had a big say in the direction of the major silverware, earning the Premier League's Golden Glove on the final day of the season with his 17th clean sheet from 34 games.

Cech kept perhaps his most important saves for last. In the FA Cup Final with the scores at 0-0, he first pulled off an amazing instinctive save to prevent Frederic Piquionne from opening the scoring, and then kept out Kevin-Prince Boateng's spot-kick with his feet, moments before Didier Drogba went up the other end and scored a superb free-kick. Just the reminder everyone needed about the goalkeeper's credentials.