Didier Drogba Could Miss Start Of Premier League Season

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has successfully undergone surgery on a groin injury that had troubled him last season, although his recovery and rehabilitation from the operation could make it touch-and-go whether he will be fully fit in time to help the Blues' when they commence their Premier League title defence at home to West Bromwich Albion on 14 August.

Despite the lingering injury the prolific targetman still fired the Blues to a domestic double during 2009-10, contributing 29 Premier League goals in 31 starts.

The decision to perform the operation on Friday, following his return from World Cup 2010 where he performed for the Ivory Coast, was taken in an attempt to speed up his rehabilitation.

A statement today on Chelsea's official website noted: "Didier Drogba successfully underwent minimally invasive surgery on Friday on the groin injury that had troubled him for some of last season.

"The decision to perform the procedure after his return from the World Cup was made to optimise his rehabilitation, and he is expected to return to full training in approximately three weeks."

Chelsea are due to face Manchester United in the FA Community Shield on Sunday, 8 August - a game Drogba seems sure to miss.

Chelsea Hit Back In Summer Transfer Battle With Bid For David Luiz

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is preparing to land a significant blow in his transfer battle with Manchester City.

Not satisfied with winning the race to sign Benfica midfielder Ramires in a £20million deal, Abramovich has sanctioned a second raid on the Portuguese club for their £27m-rated defender David Luiz.

The double swoop signals a return to Chelsea's big-spending days that coincided with the Russian's arrival at Stamford Bridge, and manager Carlo Ancelotti has set about reinforcing his double-winning squad with the best of Brazil's young talent.

The extravagant transfer moves are also sure to deliver a bloody nose to Manchester City, who have also been closely tracking Ramires and Luiz.

Up to now, Sheik Mansour's billions have seen City press on unopposed during the summer transfer window, with Roberto Mancini having already splashed out more than £80m on players.

But while City are likely to be challenging for honours this season following a major overhaul, it seems Chelsea's recent history of success has proved decisive in convincing 23-year-old Ramires that his future lies at Stamford Bridge.

Sportsmail exclusively revealed the details of Chelsea's £20m move for Ramires on Thursday.
And barring any last-minute hitches, his transfer will be finalised at the end of next week, after a holiday in his native Brazil following his exploits in the World Cup.

Ancelotti will doubtless be delighted to have got his man having searched for a central midfielder to replace Michael Ballack following his return to Bayer Leverkusen, while Deco is expected to join Brazilian side Fluminense.

Luiz, 23, is seen as a future star for Brazil having represented his country at Under 20 level. And he his already proved his class with Benfica, having been an ever-present last season as the Lisbon side won their first domestic title for five years.

Chelsea have firmed up their interest after losing Luiz's countryman Alex to a torn thigh muscle which will rule him out for a month. In addition, if Chelsea are successful in pulling off a deal for Ruiz, who like Ramires has attracted the interest of top clubs across Europe, then it may signal the end of Ricardo Carvalho's stay at Stamford Bridge.

Carvalho's former manager, Jose Mourinho, is understood to be keen for a reunion at Real Madrid. However, Rafa Benitez is eager to have the benefit of Carvalho's experience at Inter Milan as he tries to emulate Mourinho's treble winning exploits at the San Siro.

There could be a decidedly samba rhythm to Chelsea's play next season if they are also successful with a £17m move for Santos's 18-year-old striker Neymar.

Cole Can't Wait

If any Englishman managed to escape this year’s World Cup with any amount of credibility, it was Ashley Cole. The Chelsea full-back was defensively sound and offered what he could going forward.

Yes, he could’ve done more, there’s no denying that, but as the standard of England’s play fluctuated between dreadful and awful, the defender didn’t need to excel himself to become England’s best player at the tournament.

It’s off the pitch though, where Ashley Cole will get the stick.

“I hate England and the f***ing people!” Cole vented in a personal message to friends.

Cue public outrage. The Sun proclaimed it as a ‘disgraceful’ message. The red-tops then laid into the Englishman as best they could, labeling him as ‘ungrateful’ and a ‘flop’. It’s not a breed of vitriol that would be new to Cole, but, since the revelation, England’s most reviled footballer (yet, aptly our greatest performer at this year’s World Cup) has begun receiving death threats from enraged and evidently confused fans. Well, perhaps not confused but sad may be. No. Not sad. Stupid. And it’s quite unsettling to see how many people can be whipped into a nonsensical frenzy by the press.

It’s not as though the sentiment hasn’t been uttered in anger or frustration by anyone anywhere previously. This isn’t some epiphany moment in which the truth about England’s detestable nature is revealed. In fact, there are quite a few people who didn’t like England before Cole; Jamie Carragher, for example, doesn’t like England all that much; numerous British actors find the Isles dull; even the affable French think it ugly. But, nevertheless, the papers – veins still pumping with St George fever – obviously took exception to Cole’s refreshingly honest approach and so did some jingoistic fans.

But, perhaps the most revealing aspect of the whole narrative was that the message was posted before Ashley Cole even flew out to Austria for pre-tournament training and the game against Japan. That’s well over a month ago. But obviously, in order for the story to work, to create maximum uproar, the tabloids kept the story under wraps – a devious and somewhat callous way of increasing sales after the disappointing exit.

And, look, now look! He’s laughing with Ledley King! How dare he laugh as the nation mourns; how dare he look at the bright-side and get on with life as we suffer the insufferable after being beaten at football, again. He’s on £110,000 a week for god sake, he should be a broken man, drenched in uncontrollable tears, his eyes red and raw and his face contorted with grief after England’s defeat. The cheek of it!

Anyway, fortunately for all involved, Cole can bring an end to the farce with a move to Madrid to meet up with his old manager:

“I would like to have an alternative left-back to Marcelo,” revealed Jose Mourinho.

A deal of around £25million is expected to take the Englishman to the Bernabeu. Many, including himself no doubt, can’t wait.

Chelsea Duo Ashley Cole And Didier Drogba To Remain At Stamford Bridge

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has denied any truth in the speculation linking Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba with moves away from Stamford Bridge.

England international Cole has been linked with a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid ever since former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho took charge at the Bernabeu, while Drogba has been pin-pointed as a possible target for Manchester City.

However, Ancelotti is adamant that the pair are settled at Stamford Bridge and that neither has the desire to leave.

When speaking about Cole’s link with Real Madrid, Ancelotti simply said: "It is not true."

It was a phrase he repeated when asked about City's supposed interest in Drogba.

The Blues have also recently been linked with an interest in Atletico Madrid star Sergio Aguero, but Ancelotti has denied any interest in the Argentina striker, who won the Europa League with Atletico last season.

"No, it is not true," said Ancelotti.

Chelsea Defender Ricardo Carvalho Admits Moving To Real Madrid Would Be 'A Dream'

Chelsea centre-back Ricardo Carvalho has expressed his desire to join up with his former mentor Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid.

The 32-year-old centre-back admitted moving to the Spanish giants would be ‘a dream’ and a potential reunion with the self-proclaimed 'Special One' would be welcomed.

Despite lifting a domestic double with Chelsea last season, the Portugal international has been linked with a move to Inter Milan this summer.

"If there was a possibility to sign with Real Madrid, I would go there right now swimming or running," he told Spanish sports newspaper AS.

"It would be a dream to be able to play for Madrid, which I consider to be the best club in the world, and follow the orders of the best coach in the history of football.

"With [Jose] Mourinho I experienced two marvellous stages at Porto and Chelsea. To have the opportunity to win another Champions League with him at Real Madrid would be tremendous."

Mourinho initially managed Carvalho at Porto, where they won the UEFA Champions League in 2004. Carvalho then shadowed his former boss to Chelsea, but last season picked up an ankle injury at the end of March which ruled him out of the remainder of the campaign.

However, with fellow defender Alex recently sustaining a thigh injury - sidelining the Brazilian for a month - any potential transfer could be on hold.

Petr Cech Injury And Ross Turnbull Horror-Show Give Carlo Ancelotti Goalkeeping Headache

Carlo Ancelotti’s body language said it all. The fixed glare straight ahead. The purse of the lips. Arms folded. He did not need to utter a single word.

Ross Turnbull’s second howler in the space of 21 minutes in the Amsterdam Arena had surely blown any chance he might have had of replacing the injured Petr Cech in Chelsea’s Premier League curtain-raiser against West Bromwich Albion.

While Turnbull’s sixth-minute own goal owed something to ill fortune, the second was an error of judgement so colossal that it will be a shock if it has not inked Henrique Hilario’s name into the starting XI for the kick-off at Stamford Bridge on August 14.

The first goal Chelsea conceded in pre-season was not quite of Robert Green's 'Aunties-Bloomers' proportions. However, after Ajax’s Rasmus Lindgren was allowed too much time to send over a right-wing cross, Turnbull, distracted by team-mate Jeffrey Bruma, could only watch in horror as the ball deflected off his arm and into the net.

Yet the stand-in 'keeper’s second blunder, shortly after Daniel Sturridge had thundered in a deserved equalizer, was a sign of a goalkeeper whose confidence and decision-making was shot to pieces.

A simple goal-kick by Holland's first-choice shot-stopper Maarten Stekelenburg seemingly offered no threat to the 25-year-old’s goal. Turnbull, keen to keep the game moving, raced to the right-hand side of his penalty box, misjudged the bounce and his momentum took him out of the area as he slipped on the turf.

Rather than being penalized for handball, he released his grip and Siem de Jong was composed enough to delay his laughter before tapping the ball into the unguarded net.

Turnbull looked at the heavens, waved his arms helplessly and knew his chances of standing in for Cech, who has been ruled out for at least at month by the club’s medical staff after tearing his right calf muscle in training, are about as good as Green patrolling the England goal for the unwanted friendly against Hungary next month.

Thereafter, Turnbull was inevitably jeered by the Ajax supporters who filled most of the bottom tier of the stadium whenever he touched the ball, or had to fulfill the most basic of keeping duties.

He was hauled off at half-time and replaced by Hilario, but Ancelotti had, in any case, planned beforehand to split the keeping duties between the two reserves.

Although the Portuguese produced a far more assured display after the break, and his seniority would probably have won him the nod for the Premier League curtain-raiser even without Turnbull's horror-show, the Chelsea manager did not go overboard in his vote of confidence for the back-up pair.

“We just have to hope [Petr] Cech recovers quickly. But we have two other goalkeepers and have to keep faith with them,” said the Italian.

“Everyone could see Turnbull didn't have a good performance but that can happen to any young 'keeper and I still trust him.”

Although Cech is not perhaps the 'uber-safe' guardian he was in Jose Mourinho’s two Premier League winning teams, he would still walk into most top European sides. Chelsea fans will not need reminding that his sporadic absences through injury over the last four years have often coincided with defenders getting the jitters.

Only last season, Chelsea suffered a rare home defeat when Cech was 'hors de combat' as Manchester City were kings of the bridge with a 4-2 win.

Although 34-year-old Hilaro made his international debut in March, he has never suggested cast-iron surety when he has stepped in for Cech and is prone to rather-too-frequent-for-comfort lapses of concentration.

The first chink in Chelsea’s title defence has been opened.

Franco Di Santo On Loan List At Chelsea As Blues Join Hunt For Inter's Mario Balotelli

Chelsea are preparing to offload Franco Di Santo on loan and speculation is rife that the Blues are setting their sights on the Inter starlet Mario Balotelli as a replacement.

According to the Daily Mirror, the Blues are planning to farm-out their 21-year-old striker, who spent last season with Blackburn Rovers, to make squad space at Stamford Bridge ahead of the new campaign.

Dutch club Feyenoord is reportedly interested in Di Santo, while Wigan Athletic, Blackburn, Bolton Wanderers and FC Twente are also thought to be in the hunt for the Argentinian.

The current Premier League holders are set to bolster their attacking options during the summer transfer window, and after Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson made it clear Fernando Torres was not for sale, Carlo Ancelotti has set his sights on Balotelli’s signature.

However, Chelsea are believed to be competing alongside Manchester City for the unsettled San Siro star.

Reaction: A Tougher Test

Carlo Ancelotti was always planning a young team for the Ajax game, coming as it did before the World Cup players are ready, but perhaps not quite so young.

Injuries to Petr Cech, Alex, Yury Zhirkov, Yossi Benayoun and Michael Mancienne removed players with plenty of first-team experience from the trip to Amsterdam.

Eight of the starting line-up and six of the subs used were 21 years old or younger and despite the 3-1 defeat in the friendly, Ancelotti could see merit in the 90 minutes.

'For our young players it was more difficult than the last game [at Crystal Palace],' he said.

'They did their best and it is normal for young players to play this kind of game. It was more difficult but it was a good test for them. They are disappointed with the result but individually the performance of the young players was good.

'It was the second game of the pre-season, we have to improve, but I can be happy for this performance.'

In the absence of Cech, the first half was Ross Turnbull and the second was Hilario's. The Portuguese stopper was beaten late on for the third goal but before the break, an Ajax cross was turned in via Jeffery Bruma and Turnbull to open the scoring. Then after Daniel Sturridge had equalised, a Turnbull mistake gave the Dutch team the chance to make it 2-1.

'Ross Turnbull didn't have a good performance but it can happen,' said his manager.

'A goalkeeper above all positions at the start of the season can have a not good performance. We have trust in him and it is better he has a game like this now than when there is a Premier League game.'

Ancelotti expressed hope that Cech and Alex will be fit for the start of the season and expects Benayoun to rejoin full training next week.

On Monday the last of the World Cup players return too.

'We decided to give them the holiday because after a very long season they need to have a recovery. They came back at the right time and they have time to be fit for the start of the season.

'The World Cup was a different story, that is finished and now they will be focused on their season for Chelsea.'

He also expressed satisfaction in Michael Essien's condition. The Ghanaian added 73 minutes to the 62 he played at Palace.

'Essien is very well and I think he is fit to play. The injury is behind him and this is a good thing for us.'