Carlo Ancelotti hopes to welcome back Michael Essien and Ashley Cole to the Chelsea team for the last few weeks of the season in a boost to the club's hopes of securing the league and FA Cup Double.
There had been fears that Essien would miss the remainder of the season after he injured his knee playing for Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations in January. His rehabilitation has been hampered by the knee repeatedly swelling up and his having to undergo procedures to have the fluid drained.
The midfielder has not appeared for Chelsea since tearing his hamstring in December but Chelsea's manager, Ancelotti, said he could return against Liverpool on 1 May in the club's penultimate league game.
Essien's return is bad news for England, as they could meet Ghana in the last 16 of the World Cup finals in South Africa. But Ancelotti also offered some cheer to Fabio Capello and the nation, when he confirmed that the left-back Cole was pencilled in to make his Chelsea comeback against Stoke City at home on 25 April. Cole has not played since he fractured his ankle against Everton on 10 February.
"Ashley is closer to playing than Essien," Ancelotti said. "He needs more days of training but he will be ready, we hope, for the game against Stoke. He is doing very well. As for Essien, he may be one week after Ashley. He is doing well, too.
"Ashley would have three [league] games before the end of the season and that's enough [for World Cup preparations]. After the end of the season, England also have one month before the start of the World Cup, so he will be ready, 100%."
Chelsea are two points clear at the top of the table, with five matches to play, but their focus is on Saturday's Wembley semi-final against Aston Villa, the team they beat 7-1 in the league two weeks ago. Ancelotti rested his leading striker Didier Drogba in that game and the Ivorian was a substitute in the victory at Manchester United last Saturday, having taken a kick in training., But Drogba will return to the starting line-upagainst Villa, with either Nicolas Anelka or Joe Cole dropping to the substitutes' bench.
Ancelotti will keep the same defence and midfield that started at Old Trafford but he said that he had to decide between Petr Cech and Henrique Hilario in goal. Hilario, the reserve, has started in all of Chelsea's FA Cup ties this season but he has struggled with an adductor muscle injury in training this week. Ancelotti will assess his fitness on Saturday morning. Branislav Ivanovic, the defender, has returned to training after a knee problem and he is expected to be named as a substitute.
Ancelotti is determined to win the first league and cup double of his managerial career and he feels that Manchester United's and Arsenal's European exits this week have made the task more difficult.
"Those results were not good news for us because the Champions League is a very important competition and you have to use a lot of energy to play in it," he said. "I would have liked United to have won the tie against Bayern Munich and to stay in the Champions League. That would have made it easier for us at the end of the season."
