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Robben out for the season LONDON (AFP) - Chelsea’s title push was hit with a crucial blow on Friday as influential Dutch winger Arjen Robben was ruled out for the rest of the season. Portuguese boss Jose Mourinho revealed that Robben is due to undergo surgery to cure a knee problem and is almost certain to miss the title run-in. Robben had been on international duty with the Netherlands for the last week but club doctors decided on his return that surgery was the only option to cure the problem. Chelsea’s season has been blighted by long-term injuries to key players including captain John Terry, goalkeeper Petr Cech and England midfielder Joe Cole. Mourinho tried to put a brave face on the loss of the winger but found it difficult to believe he had lost his services after an international week when he had played twice for his country. Mourinho told Chelsea TV: “Robben will be out for a long time. For me it is a bit difficult to accept because he played two matches for his country, 90 minutes last Wednesday, and the next day he came here and he is injured. “He needs surgery and we lose an important player maybe for the rest of the season.” The actual scale of the knee problem has yet to be revealed by Chelsea but if it involves ligament damage, then Robben is unlikely to take any further part in their quest for glory on three remaining fronts - the Premiership, FA Cup and Champions League. The Dutchman’s season has been peppered with injuries and this latest setback could not have come at a worse time for Mourinho. Robben had been on top of his game prior to the international break and Mourinho had been full of praise for the winger who had been instrumental in helping keep the pressure on Manchester United at the top of the Premiership. But while Mourinho lamented the loss of the mercurial Robben, he was boosted by the return of Cole. Cole has been sidelined all season with a broken foot but now the England midfielder is ready to help Mourinho get over Robben’s absence. Mourinho declared: “Joe Cole is coming back and maybe next week we have him. But again we can never have our best team with every player available. But if I can lose one and gain one, it is not so bad. “At this time we just want to have no more injuries because the matches are arriving and all of them are like finals. “We want to be under pressure and being under pressure is to play every three days. We have fought a lot to be in this situation. It is difficult but we cannot complain, we need to be happy. “What a player like John Terry wants to do now is play and play and play and don’t miss one single second because he missed so much in the season. “We have some very strong characters and if they are not injured, they want to play every time.” Cole has targeted next week’s Champions League clash with Valencia at Stamford Bridge as his comeback game but that might be a little too early for the England star. However, there is every indication he cou
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Mourinho tells Chelsea to forget about UnitedJose Mourinho has told his Chelsea players to forget about Manchester United as they try to overhaul the Premiership leaders. Chelsea could be nine points behind United by the time they kick-off at Watford in Saturday’s late match as Sir Alex Ferguson’s side host Blackburn earlier the same day. A victory at Vicarage Road is essential regardless of how United fare and Mourinho believes Chelsea must focus on their own game rather than worry about matters out of their control. There is currently a six point gap between the two sides and Mourinho wants to see more of the spirit which has kept his men in the challenge for a third successive league title success. “I keep saying to the players that we have to do our job,” Mourinho explained. “The only three points of Manchester United that we can control is the game we have against them. “After that we don’t have a direct relation with them. We have to do our job and win every game. Hopefully we can then play against them when we have chances.” Chelsea’s last outing saw them beat Tottenham 2-1 to set up an FA Cup semi-final date with Blackburn. They have already won the League Cup and face a Champions League quarter-final tie with Valencia next week.
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The FA Cup final will be played at the new Wembley Stadium on May 19.The stadium was granted a safety certificate Tuesday following two successful test events, the Football Association said. The $1.54 billion stadium hosted an exhibition match on March 17 and an under-21 soccer game between England and Italy last Saturday. With the certificate, the stadium now can fill its 90,000 seats. The capacity was capped for the test events, with about 34,000 people attending the exhibition and 56,000 fans attending the under-21 match. The FA Cup last was played at Wembley Stadium in 2000, when Chelsea beat Aston Villa 1-0. The game has been played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, since then. The old Wembley Stadium was knocked down in 2001. “It’s the announcement that a lot of people have been waiting for and is great news for football fans in this country and indeed the world over,” FA chief executive Brian Barwick said Tuesday. Wembley Stadium managing director Alex Horne said he received the keys to the stadium two weeks ago. “We realize that there is still some way to go yet and are digesting the feedback we have received in order to ensure that coming to Wembley Stadium is a fantastic experience for fans,” Horne said.
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