• Premier League

Alex available for Birmingham trip

ESPN staff
November 19, 2010
Alex requires surgery on his right knee © PA Photos
Enlarge

Alex will be available for Chelsea's trip to Birmingham on Saturday after the club delayed surgery on the defender's knee.

The Brazilian was ruled out for six to eight weeks on Tuesday after it was revealed he required arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

With his central defensive partner John Terry potentially sidelined for 'months' with a nerve problem, Carlo Ancelotti was forced to play Branislav Ivanovic and Paulo Ferreira at centre-half for their 3-0 defeat at home to Sunderland.

However, Chelsea have now announced Alex, who trained with Brazil in midweek, will undergo surgery after playing his part at St Andrew's - following the news that Terry could return as early as next week.

"Tomorrow Alex will be available to play, this is good news," said Ancelotti. "He trained well with the Brazilian team, but we know he has to have surgery. We are in the position where we can procrastinate this, but we know he needs surgery.

"It's not a risk because he trained in front of the Brazilian doctors and then was on the bench. It's not a risk but his knee needs to heal."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices