Joe Cole set to return for Chelsea

Joe Cole will return to the Chelsea side for tomorrow’s Premier League clash against Birmingham at Stamford Bridge.

The England midfielder was left out of the starting line-up against Preston in the FA Cup at the weekend along with goalkeeper Petr Cech, who also returns.

Ricardo Carvalho replaces Alex in defence while Ashley Cole is back after missing the Preston game with an ankle knock. Juliano Belletti is out for a month with a knee injury while Michael Essien is sidelined for six weeks with a similar complaint.

Strikers Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou return tomorrow from African Nations Cup duty with the Ivory Coast but are not included in the squad. John Mikel Obi remains in Angola with Nigeria.

Squad: Cech, Hilario, Turnbull, Ivanovic, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole, Ballack, Deco, Lampard, J Cole, Malouda, Anelka, Sturridge, Borini, Ferreira, Bruma, Alex, Zhirkov, Kakuta.