© EuroFootball.com
In the English Premier League, London club which holds the 2nd place and defends the champions' title will have to play without the defender Michael Ballack in the upcoming UEFA Champions League semifinal second leg match.
The 30-year-old German legionnaire M. Ballack suffered a shin injury in last Sunday's 35th round match against Newcastle and may not appear again this season.
The player, who already missed the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinals against Liverpool, went to Munich on Friday where he underwent a shin operation performed by the doctor of the German national team, Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt.
M. Ballack, who joined Chelsea led by Jose Mourinho last summer as a free agent after his contract with Bayern Munich expired, has scored 8 goals in all competitions this season.
Meanwhile, the 28-year-old defender of the Portuguese national team R. Carvalho suffered a rib injury in the 29th minute of the match against Bolton on Saturday, which ended in a 2-2 draw, when he was fouled by the opponent's striker Kevin Davies.
"It's bad... it's serious," - said his compatriot and Chelsea head coach J. Mourinho about the Portuguese's injury. - "Throughout this season, he has been the best defender in our team. It's very simple. We lost to Liverpool in the English Premier League because Carvalho was not in our ranks."
Chelsea's last defeat in the English Premier League was in January when the club had to admit the superiority of Rafael Benitez's trained Liverpool with a score of 2-0.
With just two rounds left in the English championship, Chelsea lags behind the leading Man Utd by 5 points. The showdown between these teams in the league will take place on May 9th in London, at Stamford Bridge stadium.
