Chelsea check on Duff

Damien Duff will continue be assessed by Chelsea as he bids to recover from a knee problem in time to face Bolton on Saturday.

The 26-year-old limped out of the Republic of Ireland’s 1-0 victory over Cyprus in Nicosia last Saturday, resulting in a scan which revealed cartilage damage.

Duff was subsequently ruled out of his country’s crunch World Cup qualifier with Switzerland tomorrow, and returned to London for more treatment and further scans with Chelsea’s own medical team.

Depending on the diagnosis, and indeed if Duff’s injury responds to treatment, the attacking midfielder could yet be available to Jose Mourinho for the visit of Sam Allardyce’s side as the champions look to extend their 100% start to the Barclays Premiership season.

With virtually all of his first-team regulars away on international duty, the Chelsea manager will be hoping for a clean bill of health when his squad returns on Thursday morning, for what will be a busy few days with next week also seeing the resumption of their Champions League campaign, at home to Real Betis.

Full-back Wayne Bridge, meanwhile, continued his recovery from a broken ankle to build up his match fitness with another run-out for the reserves against Watford on Monday night, playing 65 minutes of the 1-1 draw with West Ham at Aldershot.