London: Holders Chelsea should have striker Demba Ba and defender Ryan Bertrand available for Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley. Senegal international Ba, who was ineligible for Thursday's Europa League quarter-final at Rubin Kazan, suffered an ankle problem in last weekend's 2-1 Premier League victory over Sunderland and had to go off at halftime.
England fullback Bertrand, who has been deputising in the absence of the injured Ashley Cole, missed the trip to Russia due to illness. Interim manager Rafael Benitez told a news conference that Ba and Bertrand took part in a light training session on Friday and he expected both players to be in his squad against City.
Cole and centre back Gary Cahill are again out with long-term injury problems. Second-placed City beat Chelsea 2-0 in the Premier League in February but Benitez said he learned some valuable lessons from that defeat at the Etihad Stadium. "We know what we did wrong when we played against them," said the Spaniard. "We will try to do these things well on Sunday.
"City are in a good position in the table and they did well against Manchester United the other day," added Benitez, referring to their 2-1 win over the Premier League leaders on Monday. "We know it will be difficult but it is a semi-final of a massive competition." A much-changed Chelsea side lost 3-2 against Rubin in Moscow and squeezed through 5-4 on aggregate to set up a Europa League semi-final
01:05 AM, Apr 13, 2013
England play Brazil at Wembley on Wednesday ahead of World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro in March. ...
11:14 PM, Jan 31, 2013
Long-serving Chelsea left back Ashley Cole has signed a one-year extension to his contract, the Premier League club said. ...
11:38 PM, Jan 22, 2013
Ashley Cole's contract was to expire at the end of the season but the England international has agreed a new deal. ...
10:36 AM, Jan 21, 2013
London: Chelsea's interim manager Rafa Benitez has said he expects the club's long-serving England players Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole to leave Stamford Bridge at the end of the season, British media reported on Saturday. Asked if it was the end of a glorious era for the pair who will be out of contract, Benitez said: "I think so, that is the case at the moment. I am only here...
07:49 AM, Nov 24, 2012
London: England left back Ashley Cole will miss holders Chelsea's Champions League Group E game at home to Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday because of a hamstring injury. Cole will be replaced by his young understudy Ryan Bertrand who played on the left side of midfield in the penalty shootout win over Bayern Munich in last season's final. "Ashley Cole won't be available tomorrow, he has a problem with his hamstring,...
02:07 AM, Nov 07, 2012
London: Chelsea defender Ashley Cole has been fined 90,000 pounds by the Football Association for a Twitter insult he aimed at the governing body last week, the FA said in a statement on Thursday. The England international called the FA a "bunch of t***s" after being accused of "evolving" his statement supporting team mate John Terry's defence against the charge he racially abused Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand in...
08:01 PM, Oct 18, 2012
London: Chelsea defender Ashley Cole has apologised to English Football Association chairman David Bernstein for a Twitter insult he aimed at the FA last week and is free to play for England against San Marino on Friday. Whether or not he earns his 99th cap in the World Cup qualifier at Wembley is up to coach Roy Hodgson but Bernstein said on Tuesday that Cole was free for selection. The...
01:33 PM, Oct 09, 2012
London: The Football Association has charged Ashley Cole with misconduct after the England defender criticized the governing body in a vulgar Twitter post. The Chelsea left back reacted angrily on Friday after an FA commission queried the evidence he gave in defending teammate John Terry against a racism charge. Cole attacked the FA's Independent Regulatory Commission after they found his team-mate John Terry guilty of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand and...
05:32 PM, Oct 08, 2012
London: Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo defended his players on Friday saying they were not out of control after Ashley Cole sent an insulting message on Twitter shortly after an FA inquiry criticised his evidence in the John Terry racism case. Cole, 31, responded to a report which explained why the FA banned Terry for four matches and fined him 220,000 pounds for racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton...
10:21 PM, Oct 05, 2012
London: England defender Ashley Cole hits back at the Football Association after being criticized for his role in defending John Terry against a racism charge. Terry, Cole's teammate for England and Chelsea, was banned for four matches by the FA for racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand. The FA judgment released Friday said Terry was found guilty of misconduct in part due to "inconsistencies" in Cole's evidence. A...
06:20 PM, Oct 05, 2012
London: David Luiz has pledged his future to Chelsea by signing a new five-year deal and manager Roberto Di Matteo is confident contract negotiations with Ashley Cole will also reach a successful conclusion. Both players featured in Saturday's 1-0 home victory over Stoke City in the Premier League, left back Cole highlighting his importance to the European champions by popping up with the late winner. "I am very happy to...
09:07 AM, Sep 23, 2012
London: The feud between Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand and Chelsea captain John Terry continued on Saturday when Ferdinand ignored Terry in the pre-match handshake at Loftus Road. Ferdinand also shunned Chelsea defender Ashley Cole, who gave evidence on Terry's behalf when Terry was found not guilty in court in July of racially abusing Ferdinand during the corresponding Premier League fixture last season. Saturday's meeting was the first between...
09:15 PM, Sep 15, 2012
London: The English Football Association says defender Ashley Cole will miss the World Cup qualifier away to Moldova on Friday due to an ankle injury. The Chelsea left back was sent back to his club on Monday for treatment after reporting to the England team hotel. Describing the ankle problem as "minor," the FA says Cole will be assessed again by England medics on Sunday to see if he can...
09:07 PM, Sep 03, 2012
London: Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has been charged over a comment on Twitter which referred to Chelsea's Ashley Cole as a "choc ice", the English FA said on Monday. "The FA has today charged Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand with improper conduct in relation to comments posted on Twitter," the FA said on its website (www.thefa.com) "The allegation is that the player acted in a way which was improper and/or...
12:04 AM, Jul 31, 2012
London: Chelsea defender Ashley Cole defended captain John Terry against accusations of racism on the second day of his teammate's trial, saying Wednesday that the case should never have come to court. Terry is accused of calling Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand a "black (expletive)" in a racially-aggregated verbal attack during a match after being goaded over an alleged affair. Terry lost the England captaincy for the first time...
07:29 PM, Jul 11, 2012
London: Singer Cheryl Cole has called off her reconciliation with ex-husband Ashley Cole following claims he slept with a flight attendant last month. According to reports, Ashley slept with flight attendant Kerry Meades in Los Angeles last month. "Once again Ashley appears to have outdone himself. Just as Cheryl's getting back on track ... he does this. She is humiliated," contactmusic.com quoted a source as saying. "Ashley had organised a...
11:21 AM, Jul 19, 2011
High-end Italian fashion designers Dolce & Gabbana have designed a range of suits for English football club Chelsea ...
01:04 PM, Jul 31, 2010
The singer says her husband has been "unfaithful" ...
12:15 PM, May 27, 2010
His ankle is painful but it's nothing compared to what he's going through with Cheryl. ...
09:48 AM, Feb 26, 2010
