Cech optimistic of swift return

CHELSEA goalkeeper Petr Cech has played down fears he could miss the rest of the season.

The 25-year-old suffered his second serious facial injury in the space of two years in a training -ground clash with team-mate Tal Ben-Haim on Sunday.

Cech immediately required surgery on his face and, while Chelsea boss Avram Grant suggested he would be back in action in two weeks, many reports have suggested he could be sidelined for much longer.

“I hope I will be back in goal soon,” said Cech. I will have to wait for what the doctor says.

“I cannot do anything now, two days after the anaesthetic. The club said I should be back in two weeks, so we shall see. I believe it will be so.”

Some reports suggested the treatment could continue for as long as six months and Cech admitted: “If I were a normal patient, it could be like that. But as I have to play football, we are trying to find a way to protect the wound.

“My face is sewn, so we must find a way to protect it from tearing again.

“Once this problem is solved I will restart training. But how long it will take, I do not know.”

Cech, who was back in training after an ankle problem, confirmed the incident had been nothing more than an unfortunate accident and insisted he did not blame Israeli defender Ben-Haim.

He said: “We were both trying to stop the goal.

“He wanted to kick the ball away and I dived for it at the same time.

“We hit each other and he tore my face — it was a coincidence.

“There are 50 such situations during every training session — it was simply bad luck.

“It is worse for me that after a long problem with my ankle I had restarted training and could finally play.

“This season has been awful as regards the injuries. I get rid of one, another comes.

“But maybe I will have a break from injuries for some time now.”

Cech reportedly needed 50 stitches in an operation lasting two hours, but he admitted he was not sure of the exact number.

He said: “I do not know exactly (how many stitches), I have not asked. For me the result is important and it is superb. The plastic surgeon did a great job.

“It looks like a small external injury. It cannot be compared to the state I looked before the operation.”

Cech confirmed he has a scar “from my lip to the chin on the right side of my face” but is happy with how the surgery went.

“When I came home, my wife and daughter Adelka recognised I was OK,” he said.