Ancelotti relieved to see Rooney miss out

Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager, admits he is relieved his side will not be facing an inform Wayne Rooney on Saturday in the Premier League summit meeting.

Manchester United have confirmed the striker has suffered minor ankle ligament damage that will keep him out of the game.

Rooney sustained the injury in the club?s 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday night and is expected to be on the sidelines for a few weeks.

The news is a blow to United, who currently top the Premier League and for whom Rooney?s 26 league goals have been instrumental in helping them maintain their quest for a fourth consecutive title.

Ancelotti is an admirer of Rooney and was sad to see the 24-year-old limping out of United’s midweek defeat.

But he recognised that the forward’s absence could improve his side?s chances at Old Trafford, while also warning that United’s other players could be galvanised by the loss of their talisman.

“Everyone knows how important Rooney is,” the Italian said. “He is a fantastic player and has had a great season. This injury can be an advantage for us but sometimes a team gives more when a player is out.

“I also want to remind you we are without Ashley Cole, Branislav Ivanovic, Ricardo Carvalho and Jose Bosingwa.

“I always said the title will be decided at the end of the season in the last game. Saturday is an important game because we are playing a strong, fantastic team at the top of the league.

“But we have a chance, our moment is good, we are fit and the confidence has improved over the last games.

“I don?t know if a draw will be a good result. I don?t want to think about this. We want to do our best and if we win, it will be better for us.

“A draw is not a bad result because there are not a lot of games left and every match is important but we are going there for a win.”

It is no wonder Ancelotti insists spirits are high in the Chelsea squad. They have scored 12 goals in their last two Premier League games.

A 5-0 demotion of Portsmouth was bettered by the 7-1 thumping they handed out to Aston Villa.

What was more impressive about their victory at Stamford Bridge over Villa is that it was achieved without leading scorer Didier Drogba.

The Ivory Coast international took a blow to the knee in training and missed the match while he recovered.

He is now fit and has been training with the Chelsea squad all week and expected to return to the line-up to face Manchester United.

Ancelotti added: “Drogba had a little problem. He was kicked on his knee but has trained. Drogba is an important player. He has scored 30 goals this season but the other players did a fantastic job against Aston Villa.”

Ancelotti also received some good news in the form that Ashley Cole has been stepping up his recovery from his ankle injury.

He is also hoping to have Ghana midfielder Michael Essien available before the end of the campaign.

He said: “Essien is not ready again. I don?t know if he will be back before the end of the season. He’s doing his recovery and working in the pool and will come back to train in about 15 days.

“His recovery is good, he had some problems at the start of the season. We hope he will come back to play the last game of the season but we are not sure. Ashley Cole is different, surely he can play before the end of the season.”