SOCCER PREMIER LEAGUE:FEARS DIDIER Drogba might face months on the sidelines were allayed last night but Chelsea will still have to cope without their principal striker for the next few weeks.

The Ivorian sustained ligament damage to his right knee during Wednesday night's goalless draw against Cluj in Romania yet scans yesterday indicated the injury was relatively minor and would not require surgery.

Further tests are scheduled as the knee settles over the next few days but Chelsea remain confident Drogba will play again before winter bites. Even so his absence poses an unwelcome challenge for Luiz Felipe Scolari. The club's resources have rarely been termed skinny but Frank Lampard has described the Brazilian's injury- ravaged squad as "a little bit thin".

Eight senior players are crowding the treatment room and Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou are currently Chelsea's only fit recognised forwards.

In an era when clubs are increasingly judged by the strength of their senior playing pool rather than the potency of the first-choice XI, this lack of attacking options could yet strip the shine from Scolari's debut season in England.

"Losing Didier will leave us a little bit thin in terms of strikers," admitted Lampard after seeing Drogba's studs seemingly become stuck in the turf following a legitimate tackle as he stretched to reach Florent Malouda's cross.

"He's a massive player. After being out for a while he was waiting to get his rhythm back but he is a top player. This is a setback.

"We certainly can't afford any more injuries to this team in certain areas but we have Nicolas Anelka and Kalou up front as well as young Franco di Santo. So we have cover; it's still a good squad."

Petr Cech's main concern was for Drogba.

"I think the saddest thing is that Didier just overcame an injury. It will be difficult mentally for him but he's a strong character," said Chelsea's goalkeeper, who maintains Scolari's injury-ravaged side - without Michael Essien until March - remain good enough to challenge for honours. "We have a squad with a lot of qualities so we hope we can cope."

But Michael Ballack fears Chelsea are not in prime shape for Aston Villa's visit this Sunday.

"We are not being lucky, especially with the strikers - we have just Nico now," said the German midfielder. "It's not easy at the moment. It's a worry."

Reflecting on the match against the Romanian champions, who have never paid more than €1 million for a player, Lampard said: "We know why Cluj won at Roma. They have quality, are impressive and difficult to play against. They counterattacked pretty well, had a bit of pace, and we lacked edge. A draw was probably a good result."

The hard, slightly rutted pitch did not help but Lampard refused to blame it entirely for Chelsea's failure to score for the first time on Scolari's watch.

"It was a bit bobbly," he conceded. "Top players should be able to play on anything but a pitch like that does make it hard when you want to play football and move the ball about quickly."

It was also a painful one for John Terry, who finished the game complaining of back pain exacerbated by the hard pitch. The captain is expected to be fit for Sunday, however.

The draw leaves Group A qualification looking a three-way fight between Chelsea, Cluj and Roma.

"We need to win two more games. We can't really say yet if Cluj is two points lost or one point won," said Cech. "We'll know if it's a good point when the other teams go to Romania."

Now, in Drogba's absence, Anelka must prove he is Chelsea's missing link.

Any wild hope that Manchester City may have entertained about adding Steven Gerrard to their roll call of the rich and famous was put into stark perspective yesterday when Dirk Kuyt insisted no Liverpool regular would consider leaving Anfield for Eastlands.

The City manager, Mark Hughes, was at Anfield on Wednesday to witness the Liverpool captain scoring his 100th goal for his club with a trademark finish against PSV Eindhoven.

The Champions League regulars will travel to the Champions League wannabes on Sunday with confidence soaring after an 11-game unbeaten start to the season.

Before they even meet, however, Kuyt has drawn a distinction between City's ambition and Liverpool's reality, having dismissed suggestions Sheikh Mansour's riches could lure Gerrard away from his boyhood club.

"We don't talk about Manchester City that much," said Kuyt yesterday. "We know they've got a new owner who has got a lot of money so we'll have to see what happens, but I don't think any Liverpool player would go to Manchester City, because we're a much bigger club.

"It won't be easy for them, especially if they want the big players. It is possible to buy big players but, if you want to buy big players who are already playing for big clubs, that is much more difficult."

Guardian Service