Drogba: Blues brawn helping me back

DIDIER DROGBA has broken his silence on the stress of playing since contracting malaria in October and how the culture of physical strength at Chelsea has helped him play through the pain barrier.

The Ivorian forward, who finished as the Premier League’s top scorer with 29 goals last season, has looked a shadow of his former self in recent months, which has coincided with a dip in Chelsea’s results.

He did score for the reigning champions in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Everton, which left Chelsea having won only two of their last seven games.