Carlo Ancelotti Won’t Travel With Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou To Burnley

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti will not include Ivory Coast strikers Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou in the travelling squad to Burnley on Saturday.

The pair returned to England this week after the Ivory Coast were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the African Nations Cup and is available, Ancelotti believes his winning squad is strong enough to continue playing without the African stars.

“Didier and Kalou came back yesterday and they are well and fit,” said Ancelotti to PA Sports.

“But they need to work for some days and so will not able to play tomorrow. They will play on Tuesday against Hull.

“Didier will stay here to train. He has come back very well, also Kalou. They are fit but they travelled yesterday and so we don’t want to take the risk for the next games.”

He added that the game against Manchester United and Arsenal will be closely watched on Sunday, but he will first focus on taking care of business on Saturday.

He said: “I am focused for tomorrow. If we are able to win, any result between United and Arsenal is good for us.

“But the Arsenal game is not a decisive match in terms of the title because there are a lot of games until the end of the season.

“We could be in a very good position if we win our next two games. It won’t be easy though because Burnley and Hull are teams involved in the bottom of the table, so they will put strong pressure and determination into the game.

“So we have to pay attention. We played very well at home against Birmingham and Sunderland and we want to do the same away.

“Now we have more possibilities. We have one more point over Manchester United but we must respect the other teams. To be favourites for the title now is not important.”

By Mark Morrison, World-Track Global