Chelsea and England left-back Ashley Cole could be out for up to three more weeks with the leg injury that has ruled him out of this Saturday’s international friendly against Brazil in Qatar.
Cole has been diagnosed with a depressed fracture of the tibia after aggravating the injury before Sunday’s 1-0 home win over Manchester United – a victory that left Premier League leaders Chelsea five points in front of the reigning champions.
Full-back Cole missed three games after sustaining the injury in the Blues’ 4-0 Champions League win against Atletico Madrid last month at Stamford Bridge.
He came back against Madrid in the return Group D game last week but required an injection in order to play against United.
Cole was left out of the England squad unveiled by Capello on Sunday, with Stephen Warnock of Aston Villa taking his place.
“He (Cole) has a depressed fracture of the tibia, an injury first picked up in the Atletico Madrid home match last month,” a Chelsea spokesman said Monday.
“He aggravated the injury before the match against Manchester United and required an injection to play.
“However, he further injured it during the game and has therefore been ruled out of this week’s England squad.”
