Alex Back; Ramires and Lampard out

ALEX BACK FOR BLACKBURN | Latest Chelsea News | Team & Transfer News | Chelsea FC | Chelsea

Ramires and Frank Lampard remain sidelined for this weekend's fixture, but Alex returns to the line-up after a four-week layoff.

The defender has not played since smashing in the second goal against Arsenal on October 3, but will partner John Terry in the centre of defence against Blackburn on Saturday afternoon.

Yay! Another week with Zhirkov at a cheap defender playing in midfield!

Ramires Returns to England

RAMIRES JOINS THE INJURY LIST | Latest Chelsea News | Team & Transfer News | Chelsea FC | Chelsea

Carlo Ancelotti will be without Ramires for the Spartak Moscow game, after the midfielder picked up a knock on his ankle in Saturday's goalless draw with Aston Villa.

The Brazilian travelled to Russia but will not be fully recovered in time and will return to England for treatment, where he will join Alex, Jose Bosingwa, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.

Despite these absences Ancelotti feels he will be able to field a strong side against Spartak in the Luzhniki Stadium, and is buoyed by the return of Salomon Kalou, who trained with his team-mates on the artificial surface on a chilly Moscow Monday.

This doesn't sound like a serious injury, and if Lampard can return for the Wolves match it won't be a serious loss for Chelsea. However, should neither player recover in time it might be a boost for fantasy managers. Next in line would be Yuri Zhirkov, who in the Yahoo! game is listed as a bargain basement defender.

For me, this is especially interesting as my current cheap defender is Jerome Boateng who limped out of the match as City limped past Blackpool. We'll have to see how severe the injury was - or it might have been whiplash from tracking Blackpool's runners all match - but either way his place looks to be in doubt with Richards returning and replacing him.

Hello Yuri?

Broken ankle rules Ashley Cole out for three months - Barclays Premier League - ESPN Soccernet

Well, it would appear that ACole is out for the rest of the season with a broken ankle.  Looks like Yuri Zhirkov will be a regular starter for Chelsea.  He won't get any clean sheet points since he's listed as a midfielder but he'll likely be worth a punt if you need an inexpensive midfielder. 

The article also starts the speculation about ACole's World Cup spot which might now revert to JT's good buddy Wayne Bridge who is really the only other specialist left back even remotely in contention.  Lescott seems to be the next in line after Bridge with Warnock and Baines also in the picture.  None of the above makes you feel better about England's chances, do they?

Anyone want to bet that we'll see some more stories about wacky remedies as England pray for ACole to be back in time to get some level of form back.

Cheers - Neal

Early Doors

"So, how are we going to spend our time off?"

Big Four edition.

The most horrendous bout of cramp

Just a flesh wound.

If "the most horrendous bout of cramp." isn't your new team name, I'll be very disappointed in you.

from Sporting Life:

Didier Drogba has been given the all-clear to resume training on Thursday after being carried off against Tottenham on Sunday with a calf injury.

The Ivory Coast international is set to figure in the squad for the trip to Wigan on Saturday after a scan revealed there was no serious damage to his calf...

"Didier had a scan and there's no problem with his calf," confirmed Chelsea's assistant boss Ray Wilkins. "It was just the most horrendous bout of cramp.

Here's the original story from ChelseaFC.com. It's also interesting to note that Joe Cole and Yuri Zhirkov will start Chelsea's Carling Cup match against QPR.

So Chelsea's midfield just got even more crowded and even more difficult to predict.

Community Shield Notes

Interesting to see Chelsea line up with Ivanovic starting at right back with no apparent injury to Bosignwa. Combine that with Bayern Munich's pursuit of Bosingwa over the summer (that was never really shouted down by anyone at Chelsea) and we might have a bargain defender in the making.

Zhirkov doesn't even make the bench as he recovers from a knee injury. It is unclear whether he will recover in time for the start of the season not and even if he does, whether he will start ahead of Malouda.

Another curious selection on the other side of the ball is Nani getting the start over Valencia with no injury reported. (and Nani just scored as if to underscore his spot in the line-up - and he made the goal himself - definitely food for thought) It also appears that Darren Fletcher will be taking Paul Scholes' old spot with Park getting the nod on the left.

At the back, O'Shea is subbing for GNev/Rafael as they are both injured and Evans is subbing in for Vidic. Foster received the call in net over Kuszczak which (I assume) makes him the presumptive favorite for Week 1 but of course we'll disect every statement from Fergie this week to ensure you have the latest and greatest news.

Premier League Transfer Round-Up

Zhirkov 'a Chelsea player'
Chelsea sign Russian winger Zhirkov
Zhirkov is a realy quality player, but I'm not sure I understand this signing.  Neal seems to think that there was already a deal in place and given Chelsea's Russian ties, it makes sense.  But Florent Malouda and Ashley Cole finally started clicking on the left-hand side for Chelsea and you wouldn't think it worthwhile to break that up.  The only thing I can think of is that FloMa moves infield as a second striker and Zhirkov plays out wide.  Now if he's also listed as a defender in the fantasy game... +10 for sure!

Foster inks new Man Utd deal
Now the only question is where will Ben Foster play this season on loan?  Hopefully it's a half-decent Premier League side though most teams seems to be settled at keeper.  Maybe Portsmouth tries to cash in on James and gets Foster on loan for a season until their ownership situation is settled.  And speaking of loan signings...

Jo set for Everton deal
Seems good business for all involved.  Well, if you don't count the 18million that Citeh paid to CSKA Moscow.  That looks like a bit of a waste now, doesn't it?  But clearly Hughes doesn't rate Jo, despite his good form at Everton.  On the other hand, Moyes gets to keep a player who flourished in his system (at least at Goodison Park) and hopefully will get to play him in tandem with Yakubu.  After all, Jo only looked an 18million player when partnered with Wagner Love.

Fiorentina ponder Melo swap
Felipe Melo for Emmanuel Eboue?  For most Arsenal fans, I think this falls into the category of "I'll drive him to the airport!".  But what is it with Wenger and Brazilian holding players?  First Silva, then Denilson and now Melo?   It's like going to France for the beer.  Or Italy for the hamburgers.

United favourites to bag Obertan
Obertan on brink of Man Utd move
French ace set for United
Another for the future, or with Cristiano Ronaldo gone, on for the here and now?  Tosic, Nani, Park and possibly Rooney akready give SAF options on the wing.  But none have the experience or the game-changing skills that United will need next season.  None, save for Rooney and I'm thinking that it is less and less likely that he'll be deployed through the middle.  Perhaps a front three of Rooney, Berbatov and Samuel Eto'o trying to replicate Eto'o's Barcelona from this season just past?

Martin makes Ipswich switch
Not Premier League, but with an opening like this... "Ipswich manager Roy Keane has raided former club Manchester United to sign winger Lee Martin for an undisclosed fee."... I couldn't resist an "who could have seen THAT coming?  Next thing you know he'll sign a former Ireland teamate! Sheesh!

And the big news of the week, which at this point seems so long ago:

Owen completes surprise Man Utd move
Owen completes stunning Manchester United move
Let's break it down, blog roundtable style.

[09:31] Neal J Thurman: Mikey Owen as the new Ole?
[09:31] Neal J Thurman: 3rd striker behind Roonaldo and Berbs?
[09:31] JSpitzberg: that the latest rumour?
[09:31] Neal J Thurman: y
[09:32] JSpitzberg: interesting
[09:32] JSpitzberg: still don't like it
[09:32] JSpitzberg: but interesting
[09:32] JSpitzberg: why spend all that money on him
[09:32] Neal J Thurman: apparently the odds have moved from 20/1 to 7/4 in the last day or so
[09:32] JSpitzberg: when you have a bunch of young guys you can use as impact subs?
[09:33] Neal J Thurman: not ready for big stage, etc.
[09:33] JSpitzberg: and give them the experience you can capitalize on in the future
[09:33] Neal J Thurman: same reason you don't want to have to count on Bendtner at ARS or Di Santo at CHE
[09:34] Neal J Thurman: he actually seems like the perfect solution for them - no transfer fee, probably not crazy wages, can limit his minutes and play younger guys to "keep him fresh"
[09:34] JSpitzberg: is he free?
[09:34] Neal J Thurman: y
[09:34] JSpitzberg: out of contract?
[09:34] Neal J Thurman: y
[09:35] JSpitzberg: can cover attacking mid too
[09:35] JSpitzberg: still not convinced it's money well spent
[09:35] JSpitzberg: but can't argue w/ it on football terms
[09:36] Neal J Thurman: guess it comes down to the salary he wants and the opportunity cost of that money - not sure what their options are at this point
[09:36] Neal J Thurman: save money for midfielders, i guess
[09:37] JSpitzberg: waiting for the madrid fire sale
[09:37] Neal J Thurman: bring Ruud back
[09:37] JSpitzberg: if you want someone old and past it that can give you a spark...
[09:37] JSpitzberg: why not robben?
[09:37] Neal J Thurman: why not both :-)
[09:37] JSpitzberg: ha
[09:37] JSpitzberg: sure