Chelsea boss Andre Villas Boas has confirmed that Didier Drogba and Jon Obi Mikel have not travelled with the squad to Belgium to take on Genk in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The Ivory Coast international has been left back in London and will undergo surgery to removed screws from the arm he broke last year in the build up to the World Cup.
“We took the risk based on his domestic suspension and the forthcoming international break to remove six of the eight screws from his arm,” the Portuguese coach told reporters at a press conference.
“So he’s out of this game and the Blackburn game, and should be ready to return for the team when the others go away for international fixtures,” Villas Boas confirmed.
The ex-Porto trainer also stated that Mikel was being rested for the trip, and maintained that The Blues were on track despite consecutive league defeats.
“There’s always a learning curve in winning and in losing,” he continued.
“I think you have to be frank and say that our progress was stopped in a disastrous week for us in terms of results. But you cannot say it’s all gone to ruins. That’s not true.
“There is, of course, back-to-back defeats in the Premier League, which take their toll in terms of the league table.
“But that doesn’t mean that what’s being built is wrong, that the philosophy is wrong, and that we’re not on the right track. We are on the right track. What we are building is still right.
“We have been punished in the last week in terms of the results, but it’s up to us to take on the challenge.
“We represent a massive club and we’re not running away from the mistakes, but we have to move on,” he concluded.
Chelsea beat Genk 5-0 in the corresponding fixture in England two weeks ago, and know a win can leave them in a very strong position in Group E.
By Gareth McKnight
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