Carlo Ancelotti set to return in time

Date: 23rd October 2009 at 2:06 pm
Written by Alec Fenn

Chelsea assistant Ray Wilkins expects Carlo Ancelotti to be back in the Stamford Bridge dugout for Saturday's game against Blackburn Rovers.

The Italian coach has not taken training for the last two days after returning home to Italy in the aftermath of Wednesday's 4-0 Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid when his father was taken ill.

"I am sincerely hoping that Carlo will be back," said Wilkins.

"His father is not in the best of condition. I spoke to Carlo last night and his father was stable, so we are keeping our fingers crossed that he will be back."

Meanwhile, Wilkins has denied that Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho was dropped for the midweek European game.

Reports had suggested that Carvalho had been singled out for criticism following a below-par display in last weekend's 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa.

"Ricardo was not dropped on Wednesday night. He was rested," explained Wilkins.

"He played three games on the spin, went away and played international football on two occasions, and Carlo decided he would leave him out on Wednesday.

"We are perfectly happy with the way Riccy has been playing.

"We made a couple of errors at Aston Villa but every club in the country makes errors at set-plays. We have worked on them and spoken about it a lot."

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