My prayers answered over Drogba, says Scolari

Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari believes his prayers have been answered after doctors revealed Didier Drogba's knee injury, sustained in Romania in midweek, will keep him out for weeks rather than months.

Scolari admits he feared the worst when Drogba was carried off on a stretcher in Romania, and even offered up a prayer on behalf of the Ivorian striker.

Now it seems someone is listening after a scan showed Drogba does not have serious ligament damage and could be back within a month.

There was more good news for Scolari as John Terry, Joe Cole, Alex and Ashley Cole were all predicted to recover sufficiently from knocks to feature in Sunday's Premier League match at home to Aston Villa.

Scolari said: “After the doctor made his examination Didier knows now it's a little injury. I prayed for this! 'Help me', I said. And sometimes God helps me, for sure.

“Didier is better than we first thought. Now I think if it's normal treatment it will be a maximum one month before he's ready to play. It's very well for us.”

Drogba's injury is good news for French international striker Nicolas Anelka, who will now be recalled to the starting line-up to face Aston Villa on Sunday.

Anelka gave Chelsea a scare when he was unable to train Friday because of a muscle spasm, but is almost certain to have recovered in time to play at Stamford Bridge.

Scolari has also indicated he won't turn to the transfer market to bring in an extra striker and says he is more than happy with the contribution of Anelka so far this season.

He said: “I am satisfied with my players. Do you know how many goals Anelka has made this season? Ten! Very well, fantastic. Also, Joe Cole has four and Salomon Kalou four, so I'm happy. I'm not afraid about the injury to Didier because I believe in these players.”

Scolari, whose goals figure for Anelka includes pre-season matches, had only 15 players available to train on Friday but expects the injury crisis to ease.

Scolari said: “I have Deco out, Carvalho, out, Didier out and the other players I wait until tomorrow.”

Captain John Terry and fellow defenders Alex and Ashley Cole all picked up back injuries in Romania but are likely to return.

Scolari said: “I think John Terry will be fine, because today I asked him about this problem and he said it's finished. He said: 'Tomorrow I train and I play, maybe one leg but I play'. He wants to play. He's our captain and he wants to show the other players.

“Joe Cole is fine too; he's training. He's in good condition to play. If he plays or not I don't know but today he trained very well.

“I won't know about Ashley Cole and Alex until tomorrow, but I expect they will play. They didn't train today because we want to keep them for tomorrow.

“Then I'll know everything about who plays. But I think all the players will play. From the players who got injured in Cluj only one won't play (Drogba).”