Chelsea could be down to the bare bones for Sunday's Premier League clash with Aston Villa after Didier Drogba joined a lengthening injury list. Drogba suffered suspected knee ligament damage in Chelsea's 0-0 Champions League draw with CFR Cluj, leaving the field on a stretcher and the stadium on crutches with his right leg in a brace.

Manager Luiz Felipe Scolari was already without Deco, Joe Cole, Michael Essien and Ricardo Carvalho. Ashley Cole sat out the game with a sore back while John Terry (back) and Alex (buttock) both finished it in pain.

An extended lay-off for Drogba, who was making only his third start after undergoing a knee operation in the summer, would leave Nicolas Anelka as Chelsea's only fit out-and-out striker.

With Carvalho sidelined for the next fortnight, Scolari will be anxious both Terry, who was holding his back in the closing stages, and Alex recover for the weekend or Chelsea will be out of senior centre-backs.

Scolari is at least optimistic that Ashley Cole will return to face Villa, though the long-term prognosis for Drogba did not look promising.

The Ivorian appeared to jar his right knee as he stretched to reach a cross from Florent Malouda and immediately crumpled to the floor.

The only up-side of a difficult evening in Transylvania was that Chelsea left with a point and not a defeat that could so easily have befallen them.

Frank Lampard was Chelsea's brightest spark but he could not unlock the determined Cluj rearguard on his own.