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Drogba back for Chelsea

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba will be back in action for his side’s clash with Wolves on Saturday, but Frank Lampard is set to be sidelined again for the Premier League leaders.

Drogba, the Premier League’s top scorer last season, returns after missing Chelsea’s last two matches with a virus and should start up front with Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda.

Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti could also give Portugal right-back Jose Bosingwa his first start in a year following knee problems, but Lampard is still recovering from a groin problem.

Ancelotti is determined to protect Lampard until he is fully fit. The England midfielder is currently training on his own but due to train with the team again at the end of next week.

“I can say that Bosingwa will start — this is very good news after a long period,” Ancelotti said on Friday.

“Everyone is excited to see him back and he’s a very important player. We need a full-back with power and resistance. He has all these skills. Drogba will come back. He is fit and is able to play.

“Frank is progressing very well and the next step will be to train with the team and after that to play.

“We have to be patient with Frank because he had a problem and he’s trying to progress.

“We don’t want to take a risk and so, for this reason, we have to take more weeks to put him in the best position to play.”

Osman out

Meanwhile Everton midfielder Leon Osman has been ruled out for up to six weeks with an ankle injury.

Osman suffered the problem in Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Merseyside rivals Liverpool at Goodison Park and is not expected back before early December.

The 29-year-old’s injury further reduces the midfield options available to Everton manager David Moyes as Jack Rodwell and Marouane Fellaini are also currently sidelined. With those injures in mind, Moyes is hoping Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta will recover from a hamstring problem in time to feature in Saturday’s Premier League clash at Tottenham. “Leon Osman has a bad ankle injury which will keep him out for four to six weeks which is a real blow,” Moyes told Everton’s web site.

“We’ll also have to have a close look at Arteta’s fitness as well. There is no getting away from it, we have another bad set of injuries like we had last year.

“Hopefully they will not be as bad as that in terms of the length of time the players will be missing for.”

Free transfer

Premier League club Blackburn Rovers signed French midfielder Herold Goulon on a free transfer on Friday. Goulon agreed a two-year contract with an option for a further year’s extension after a successful trial with Sam Allardyce’s team in September.

The 22-year-old, who had a previous spell in English football with Middlesbrough, was able to join Rovers outside the transfer window because he has been a free agent since leaving French club Le Mans during the close-season.

Goulon told Rovers’ official website: “My first game at Middlesbrough I was 18 years old, so I wasn’t really mature and wasn’t working as hard as I should.

“Now I’m 22 years old so I do understand what I have to do to be on the pitch every week. I always wanted to come back to England because I think this is the best league in Europe, in the world.”