Drogba feared for his life

Chelsea star Didier Drogba says he is lucky to be alive after the head injury he suffered in a sickening collision against Norwich City last month.

The 33-year-old Ivory Coast striker has not played since the incident, which saw him lie unconscious for almost eight minutes in the aftermath of a clash with Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy.

Drogba has been named as a substitute for Saturday’s match against Swansea City in the Premier League.

Describing his limited memory from the injury at Stamford Bridge, Drogba admits the ordeal was a scary one which ranks as the worst he has experienced in his football career.

“When I woke up I didn’t know what was going on – I was scared,” he told The Sun.

“I couldn’t remember anything from after Norwich equalised until I was being rushed to hospital.”

“But I’m really grateful to everyone who helped me, the stadium staff and the medics who calmed me down. They told me I’d been unconscious for between six to eight minutes.”

“Not playing was frustrating, but I was lucky I was still alive and I knew it was only a question of time and I’d play football again.”

Drogba continued: “I’ve had some injuries before – I’ve broken a leg and an arm – but this was worse. I had concussion and a perforated ear drum which is why I needed time. I was feeling dizzy and needed to wait for my ear to heal.”

“I couldn’t cope with any noise, it was too noisy in my head and I wasn’t allowed to fly because it was too dangerous.”

Chelsea had hoped to give Drogba his comeback from the bench in the midweek League Cup game against Fulham.

However, circumstances of the match, which included the Blues picking up a red card and having to fight all the way to a penalty shoot-out before progressing, meant he remained as an unused substitute.