English FA Premiership: Joe Cole has suffered a knee-ligament injury that could disrupt Chelsea's entire season. Though the full extent of the problem is unclear, the initial prognosis is that the England midfielder could face a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Cole suffered a heavy challenge four minutes after entering the action at the start of the second half during the 1-0 defeat against MLS All Stars at Toyota Park on Saturday. Though he attempted to return to the field after treatment, he broke down again and was immediately substituted.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho explained that a scan will be required at a London hospital. "Joe is the real problem of the day," said Mourinho.
"We don't want injuries, especially in pre-season, and Joe Cole is injured. Everybody is worried. It is something in his knee, something in his ligaments; he is really injured."
The news of Cole's injury compounded the impact of a dismal evening for Chelsea in which their lack of fitness, only eight days before the season's curtain-raiser against Liverpool in the Community Shield, was patently clear. Dwayne De Rosario struck a magnificent 25-yard shot that beat the recently signed substitute Portuguese goalkeeper Hilario at his near post to seal the Americans' victory.
The Premiership champions flew back from Chicago in a plane chartered from the Dallas Mavericks basketball team immediately after the match but must contend with jet-lag during what now becomes a hectic pre-season schedule.
After not playing at all this summer before Saturday, they fly to Rotterdam for tomorrow's fixture against Feyenoord, returning to play Celtic at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday before travelling to Cardiff for Sunday's Community Shield.
Mourinho accepts this is not the best preparation for his team's Premiership defence, which begins at home to Manchester City on Sunday week.
"Liverpool will already have a Champions League match in their legs," he said with reference to Wednesday's qualifier against Maccabi Haifa.
"When we play Manchester City they will have been in pre-season for nearly two months and have five, six, maybe even seven games in their legs. Without legs it is difficult to play football. My players were without legs.
"Training in Los Angeles twice a day, with great intensity, the players haven't recovered from that."
Meanwhile, Mourinho will also be concerned by the latest twist in the William Gallas affair.
Gallas, speaking to French television station, repeated that he wanted to leave and claimed Chelsea were still blocking his move to another club. Linked with Milan and Arsenal, the World Cup finalist said he would also welcome a move to Spain, possibly Real Madrid.
"I want to leave Chelsea but it's not just down to me," Gallas said. "Chelsea absolutely want me to stay with them. We have to keep discussing, talking."
At the same time his agent Pierre Frelot was quoted as saying he is seeking Chelsea's authority to let his client leave.
The 28-year-old defender, who has one year left on his contract, told the club in May that he wanted to leave and said yesterday of the issue: "A lot of things did not please me."
Gallas has been linked with Arsenal, possibly as part of an exchange deal involving Ashley Cole finally leaving for Stamford Bridge. Now, given Real Madrid's reported interest in pairing him with Fabio Cannavaro in central defence, the Frenchman said: "You have to maybe leave the Premier League one day, there are other championships. If I leave to go to Spain, I would need to adapt, to take a bit of time."
