Lampard back for Blues

Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed Frank Lampard will start in Sunday’s Premier League crunch match with Manchester United.

Lampard has not played since August because of hernia surgery but Chelsea are confident he is now fully recovered and ready to face the league leaders.

The midfielder played a 60-minute friendly match at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground on Thursday and Ancelotti expects him to be hugely important against United.

“He played 60 minutes without problem and finally he will play Sunday. He will start,” Ancelotti said.

“It’s good news. I think this team needs Lampard, his ability to score from midfield and his experience. He can help us because he’s fresh and he has a strong desire to come back to play.”

Chelsea are also confident they have waited long enough for the injury to clear and do not expect any future problems.

“We waited a lot of time with him, we didn’t take a risk,” said Ancelotti.

“Obviously we are not sure 100 per cent because if a player goes on the pitch maybe he can have an injury but we did everything to keep him safe.”

Ancelotti believes Lampard’s return will mark a new start for Chelsea who have endured a miserable spell in the last two months, winning only once in six league games.

But a 1-1 draw at Tottenham last week, in which Chelsea produced a much-improved performance, has changed the atmosphere at the club.

“United arrive in this game better than us with more confidence, but to play against Man United can be a fantastic motivation for us,” he said.

“Let’s use this game to move on from a difficult moment. I think the difficult moment is finished. There was a different atmosphere at the training ground this week. I hope in the game we are able to do our best.”

“Of course it is only three points but to beat Man United, one of the best teams in England and Europe, could be fantastic for the atmosphere in the squad.”

“Last year we won both games against them but now they have advantage in the table and we want to use this game to improve our play and to stay close in the table.”

Chelsea have no other major injury problems with only Alex, Yuri Zhirkov and Yossi Benayoun ruled out.

“We trained well this week, we trained with all the players and the atmosphere was different – better,” Ancelotti said.

“It’s important for your confidence to win a game like this. If you are able to beat United, as we did last year, it’s good for the mentality, character and personality of the team.”