Ashley Cole will be unavailable for the West Ham game this weekend for Chelsea as he aggrevated an existing Rib problem to play for England against Germany. Cole first encountered this problem during the blues win over Norwich and it then caused him to miss 2 international games as he was out for 3 weeks. His form has taken a knock since this rib injury.
He received criticism from Jose Mourinho after his performance against Newcastle. He was benched for the Champions League match against Shalke and the league game against West Brom and Cesar Azpilicueta took his place. The england international was surprised to be selected for the 1-0 loss against Germany on Tuesday. The 32 year old was complaining of discomfort at the half-time break and was substituted 8 minutes into the second half for Kieran Gibbs.
The defender will be assessed by club medics and will be unlikely available for selection. He will probably be unavailable for the league game this weekend however he can play the Champions league game midweek but Mourinho may rest him for his benefit. Azpilicueta has performed very well in the games he has played during Cole’s injury.
By Billy Foster
