Chelsea v Blackburn team news – Bosingwa, Zhirkov and Mikel out

In Ancelotti’s absence, Ray Wilkins has given the pre-match conference for Chelsea’s game against Blackburn, and has said that there will be three players missing on Saturday, after assessing the players after the Champions League match against Atletico Madrid.

‘We have a couple of knocks and bumps and bruises but on the whole we are not too bad. Bosingwa will be out, Zhirkov will be out and John Obi Mikel probably just won’t make this one but we are getting there and should have a fully fit squad within a couple of weeks,’ he said.

He also said that Ricardo Carvalho was just being rested in midweek, but we can expect him back in the team.

“He wasn’t dropped on Wednesday night,” Wilkins said. ‘We have to look at the size of our squad and the quality we have. Ricardo wasn’t dropped, he was rested.

“He played three games on the spin then went and played international football so when it came to Wednesday Carlo decided he would leave him out, but we are perfectly happy with the way Riccy has been playing.”