Source: Daily_Mail
Chelsea midfielder Lampard back to face Arsenal... thanks to hard work
It was Robin van Persie who alerted the world to a 'miracle cure' in Belgrade but it is Frank Lampard who has made a rapid recovery to play against Arsenal.[LNB]Lampard flew to the Serbian capital to consult Marijana Kovacevic last week but declined her controversial placenta massage therapy on his injured thigh.[LNB]Carlo Ancelotti confessed this was a relief for him because the Chelsea manager would rather see his star players in the hands of club doctor Bryan English.[LNB]Quick return: Lampard[LNB]'No, I don't like it,' said Ancelotti, for whom concessions to alternative medicine go little further than his faith in his grandmother's 'milk and red wine' flu remedy.[LNB]'I believe only in my doctor, who is a man called Bryan,' said Ancelotti, smiling. 'We sent him with Lampard to look at this treatment and how it works. It was a good thing for us to understand whether it was a good treatment or not.[LNB]'But, after one hour, we decided to keep Frank working with our masseurs. He stayed for one hour and he has been working hard for maybe 80 hours here at Cobham.'[LNB]Lampard's speedy recovery from a muscle tear means Ancelotti's squad look far healthier than Arsenal's. 'He's been fighting for the last 10 days to get fit for this game,' said Chelsea captain John Terry. 'He'll play a massive part if he can.'[LNB]Arsene Wenger is without Van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner, Abou Diaby, Gael Clichy and Kieran Gibbs, who had surgery on a broken first metatarsal yesterday and will be missing for three months.[LNB]Wenger will choose between Emmanuel Eboue, Mikael Silvestre and Armand Traore at left back and keep his fingers crossed for central defender William Gallas, who has a badly swollen eye after clashing heads with team-mate Andrey Arshavin.[LNB]Gallas, who plays in a gumshield, looked even more like a boxer after the 2-0 victory over Standard Liege and is rated only '50-50' to face Didier Drogba, a forward with history when it comes to beating up the Gunners.[LNB]Philippe Senderos and Silvestre, Wenger's central defensive options if Gallas fails to make it, have both suffered personally at the hands of the striker.[LNB]Ancelotti took care to dodge the usual generalisations: that Arsenal look nice but, ultimately, lack the power to cope with the ruthless Chelsea machine. or that this fascinating footballing duel can be reduced to the flair of a Frenchman against a clinical Italian.[LNB]'I don't agree,' he said. 'They have very good defenders and they work very hard as a compact team and they try to maintain discipline.'[LNB]But he did concede Chelsea's physical power gave his team a differentdimension. 'Arsenal don't use strength to win,' Ancelotti added. 'They use their own fantastic, technical qualities. We can use strength to win a game. We have another solution. We can accept winning without playing well.'[LNB] Mischievous: Ancelotti[LNB]Ancelotti was still playing for AC Milan at the time he first met Wenger, already a meticulous young coach when he spent a month in Italy studying Arrigo Sacchi's work. [LNB]Last year, the two were in competition when the Gunners knocked Milan out of the Champions League, although revenge of sorts will be achieved if Chelsea win at the Emirates tomorrow and leave their London rivals trailing them by 11 points.[LNB]Ancelotti, though, is full of admiration for Wenger, and especially his 13 years at Arsenal. He is not the sort to engage, like Jose Mourinho, in cross-city taunts about 'voyeurism' and lack of silverware.[LNB]'You cannot judge a coach only on his results,' said Ancelotti, who is the eighth Chelsea manager during Wenger's time at Arsenal but who hopes to be the one to bring similar continuity to Stamford Bridge.[LNB]'My objective is to maintain and keep this position for a long time. Ten years? Why not 20? For an Italian coach, it is very difficult to think of staying at one club for more than five years but I stayed at Milan for eight years and that was a record. In England it is easier to stay at a club for a long time.[LNB]'Chelsea is like a family. I like the atmosphere here. For sure, the club pay me to train this team but I am here because of my passion. I've never coached for the money. Football gives me a lot of emotion.'[LNB] Wenger insists Chelsea star Anelka still 'loves' Arsenal and always hasChelsea's Terry hits back at PR claims that he is touting himself for businessARSENAL FC
