The 28-year-old defender will sit out Friday’s friendly trip to Ajax because of the knock he picked up in training, as will new signing Yossi Benayoun, who has a groin problem.
It is the second such blow in successive days for Chelsea, who this week saw goalkeeper Petr Cech ruled out for a month with a torn calf.
Friday’s match will therefore give back-up keepers Hilario and Ross Turnbull the chance to stake a claim to begin the season in the first team.
temporary charge
“There are no more players coming to Ajax that didn’t play against Crystal Palace, so Yossi Benayoun is out and Alex has a problem in his thigh but with the other players it is the same squad,” coach Carlo Ancelotti, whose side beat Palace 1-0 at the weekend, said.
“I think that against Ajax we will play 45 minutes each for Turnbull and Hilario, and I think Turnbull will start the game.
“It is a pre-season match so we don’t have too many targets, just to improve our condition and put the players in better condition for the start of the season.
“I think that we played with a good tempo in the first game against Palace and if we can do the same it would be good.
“This week was a hard week in training, and the players could be a little bit tired on Friday. Some will play longer, I don’t want to make a lot of changes because we now need the players to be playing 90 minutes.
“For the young players, it is good to improve their confidence in our possibilities, to gain confidence of playing with the first team players like Michael Essien and Mikel, it is a very good experience.”
www.chelseafc.com
“Alex has a problem in his thigh” – Carlo Ancelotti
Credits: PremierLeague.com
Comments on this entry are closed.