Cole faces rest of season out

Stress fracture
England international Cole last played as a substitute in a 1-1 draw at Manchester United FC in November and Chelsea's club doctor has now advised the player to have an operation on a stress fracture of his foot. Chelsea manager José Mourinho said: "Joe Cole, I think is an injury forever, or at least for the season. He has an opinion from our doctor, which is surgery, but we are waiting for the player to make his decision."

Chelsea injuries
The Premiership champions are already without skipper John Terry, though he is expected to return to action much sooner than expected following a back operation in France this week. Arjen Robben is also injured, along with goalkeepers Petr Čech and Carlo Cudicini, as Chelsea attempt to claw back a six-point deficit on Manchester United at the top of the Premiership. They return to action in Europe when they face Mourinho's former club FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League on 21 February.

Mourinho misery
Mourinho was in downbeat mood after watching his side draw 2-2 against local rivals Fulham FC as Chelsea conceded their eighth goal in the last four league matches in the process. "Everybody knows at the moment Chelsea cannot defend. I am the first person to know that," said Mourinho. "If the opponent sees mistake after mistake after mistake they smell the chance and they keep going to the end. They chase their luck and the luck comes. Maybe we are not as good as we think we are. Maybe we have not such a good manager and maybe the players are not such good players."