Chelsea boost as Michael Ballack gets back in action ahead of meeting Manchester United

Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack is raring to go after putting his latest injury behind him. The Germany international missed four pre-season games as he recovered from a broken toe before playing for the reserves in a 4-0 win over a QPR XI on Tuesday. With Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti set to play a diamond formation, Ballack is aware that competition for places in midfield will be fierce. And with that in mind he is determined to get his season off to a flying start when Chelsea face Manchester United in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday. 'I feel good. It was important to come back quickly and good to have a game like this to come back,' Ballack said. 'I have trained really well during the time I was injured on the bike and in the pool so I could keep up my fitness level. Now I'm happy to be back. 'It's always disappointing to be with the team (on pre-season trip to USA) and have to go back from such a nice tour but it was better for my recovery because there were a lot of flights over there. It was better for me to come back and recover over here. 'We are now using a completely new system with the diamond. We played it under Jose Mourinho a few times and some of the players know it. 'We have to adapt again because we have four in the middle with no wingers and a lot of the possession is different offensively and defensively, so we have to train a lot. 'We are doing double training sessions at the moment but I am used to doing that from Germany and it is normal in pre-season to work harder. There is a lot to do to prepare for the new season.'

Source: Daily_Mail