Drogba and Kalou miss out on trip to Burnley
The Ivory Coast pair have returned from African Nations Cup duty but will not be considered for the Barclays Premier League game at Turf Moor.
The Italian coach wants to give them more time to recover from their return journey from Angola and insisted that the Burnley game has arrived too early for them.
“Didier and Kalou came back yesterday and they are well and fit,” said Ancelotti.
“But they need to work for some days and so will not able to play tomorrow. They will play on Tuesday against Hull.
“Didier will stay here to train. He has come back very well, also Kalou. They are fit but they travelled yesterday and so we don’t want to take the risk for the next games.”
Ancelotti knows that victory over Burnley will put more pressure on rivals Manchester United and Arsenal, who face each other at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow.
Chelsea go into the game one point clear of United with a game in hand, and Ancelotti added: “Our job is to win and play well and then we can watch a fantastic game between Manchester United and Arsenal.
“I am focused for tomorrow. If we are able to win, any result between United and Arsenal is good for us.
“But the Arsenal game is not a decisive match in terms of the title because there are a lot of games until the end of the season.
“We could be in a very good position if we win our next two games. It won’t be easy though because Burnley and Hull are teams involved in the bottom of the table, so they will put strong pressure and determination into the game.
“So we have to pay attention. We played very well at home against Birmingham and Sunderland and we want to do the same away.
“Now we have more possibilities. We have one more point over Manchester United but we must respect the other teams. To be favourites for the title now is not important.”
Kalou is desperate to get back into action after coming back to England from Angola.
The forward insists he is fit enough to play after returning from an unsuccessful campaign which saw the Ivory Coast reach the last eight of the tournament.
“I am fit to play, I didn’t pick up any injuries, I am feeling well and have a lot of confidence,” said Kalou.
“I thought I had a good game for Chelsea against Fulham before we left and now I come back in good form.”
But Kalou, who had an outstanding game against Algeria in the African Nations Cup quarter-final, recognises the task ahead of him will be trying to break into Ancelotti’s first-choice team, having seen some of January’s action on TV while out in Africa.
“I watched some of the games and I think that the way the team played shows we are in the best form,” added Kalou.
“I wouldn’t think we would keep winning games, every team has its moments where they are not playing well, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and we had our difficult moments, but we are back in a good one.
“Now we need to keep winning and taking points, because that’s how we win the title.’’
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
