Benitez: Cole, Cahill in doubt for City semi

Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez says Ashley Cole is likely to be out for two weeks with a hamstring injury.

The left-back was replaced by Ryan Bertrand after just 22 minutes of Chelsea’s FA Cup quarter-final win over Manchester United on Monday and is now a doubt for the club’s semi-final against Manchester City on April 14.

“This kind of injury he’ll be out for two weeks,” Benitez told reporters.

Chelsea centre-back Gary Cahill also missed the 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge due to a knee injury.

According to Benitez, the England international is also likely to be sidelined for two weeks.

United manager Alex Ferguson said his team struggled to get back in contention following the goal from Ba, a player he identified as a major threat going into the game.

“After that we lacked composure to win the game. We had a lot of possession but didn’t really make use of it,” Ferguson told ITV.

“We spoke about Ba and the experience we had in Newcastle (a) couple of years back. He scored exactly the same type of goal and we always had to be aware of the type of execution he has with his shots.

“We were caught napping to be honest with you and right at the start of the second half, it wasn’t a good start for us.”