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Ancelotti expects Lampard to face Sunderland

Frank Lampard has missed a significant period

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Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti believes Frank Lampard will finally be ready to return to first-team action against Sunderland on Sunday after missing the past two-and-a-half months through injury.

Lampard was first tipped to make his long-awaited return three weeks ago, while Ancelotti had also hinted he might play against Liverpool. But the England midfielder has still not featured in a matchday squad since the victory over Stoke on August 28.

However, that appears certain to change against Sunderland, not least because the Blues will be without Lampard's fellow midfield talisman Michael Essien, who was sent off in Wednesday's 1-0 win against Fulham.

Essien, who scored the decisive goal with a close-range header on the half-hour, is facing a three-match ban unless Chelsea can successfully appeal against the dismissal.

The Ghana midfielder's suspension opens the door for Lampard, who having been out of action with hernia and tendon problems has begun training with the squad once more, and Ancelotti is confident he will be fit enough to play some part on Sunday.

"I think he'll be okay for Sunday,'' Ancelotti said. "He started to train two days ago with the team. He doesn't have a problem, is showing confidence. I hope he will be ready, not necessarily to play for 90 minutes but just to be involved in the squad.

"If he's okay, he can start. I don't think he will be able to play 90 minutes, but he can play part of the game - he can do that.''

Ancelotti will also have Brazilian defender Alex and striker Nicolas Anelka fit again for the Sunderland game. Alex missed the win over Fulham with a knee injury while Anelka was troubled by a back problem.

"We don't have big injuries,'' Ancelotti said. "Anelka and Alex will be able to be involved in the next game. Lampard also. We have just (Yossi) Benayoun at this moment out.''

Ancelotti will watch Essien's lunge on Clint Dempsey before deciding whether to appeal against the midfielder's straight red card. The Ghanaian's stoppage-time dismissal took the shine off his performance and Chelsea's win, but Ancelotti was adamant he did not think the tackle was dangerous.

"I don't like to judge the decision,'' he said. "But I can say that maybe it was not a red card because Essien did a strong tackle but on the ball. There was not a risk on the opponent. I think he went for the ball, the last ball of the game, an important ball.

"I don't think he did a silly foul. He tried to do a tackle, he won the tackle. And I'm not sure it was a sending-off. I'd like to see it again but directly, on the pitch, I didn't think it was a dangerous tackle.

"I hope we won't lose him for three games. That would be a problem if we lose him for three games. We have to wait, I think. I want to watch the replay before doing anything.''

Fulham boss Mark Hughes believes Essien deserved to be sent off and also raised questions over Chelsea's goal.

Didier Drogba was injured in the Fulham penalty area when Essien headed home Florent Malouda's cross and Hughes conceded his side were caught off guard.

"The guy's jumped in with two feet, so it's a straight red,'' Hughes claimed. "As for the goal, that's a disappointment from our point of view. We were distracted by Drogba lying prone in the box.

"You still have to play to the whistle, so maybe we were guilty of expecting the referee to blow up. He didn't and we paid the penalty. It's confusing the way the game is viewed in terms of when players go down: are they faking, and do you kick the ball out?

"We had that in the second half when we had the ball in a promising position and ended up having the ball put out near our goal-line, which was a bit ungentlemanly.''

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