‘It wouldn’t be easy to leave Drogba out, but there’s a chance’ – Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti hints at Fernando Torres recall

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Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has admitted that while it would be a tough decision to leave Didier Drogba out of the starting XI to face West Ham on Saturday, the Ivorian could yet find himself on the bench.

The Italian has shuffled his striking options ever since the Stamford Bridge club acquired £50 million record signing Fernando Torres from Liverpool in January, and despite the Spaniard having failed to find the net since his move, Ancelotti admits that he could recall the forward in place of the in-form Chelsea veteran.

“It wouldn’t be easy to leave Drogba out, but there’s a chance we could leave him out on Saturday,” Ancelotti told reporters.

“Maybe I can use some rotation to maintain the players’ freshness.

“We started with Torres against Manchester City. We won the game when Didier came on.

“It might be a good solution to give him the last 30 minutes of the game because he’s fresh and fit.”

The past two games have seen the former AC Milan boss choose the Ivorian over Torres, and with successful results, as Chelsea find themselves in second place in the league and six points behind leaders Manchester United.

Torres’ stats of 893 minutes without a goal in the league going very much against him, it would seem a start for the former Liverpool ace would be a massive gamble on Ancelotti’s part, but the Italian is adamant that it could be the right choice to make.

The World Cup winner has failed to find the net in each of his 13 matches thus far, and just one goal has been scored by the reigning champions whilst Torres has been on the pitch. But Ancelotti insists that his misfiring striker just needs one goal to boost his confidence.

“To score one goal, for him, could be the best medicine.” Ancelotti added.

“If the players, the team-mates, help him, I’m happy.

“That means there’s a good relationship with each other in the squad.”

“Everyone has to know that Fernando is the present and the future of this club. We cannot judge now the moment. He will play a lot of games for Chelsea.”

In terms of the upcoming game against relegation battlers West Ham, Ancelotti believes it will be as hard a game as any, as the Hammers look for vital points for survival.

“At this stage of the season, every game is difficult.

“It’s difficult to prepare, to stay concentrated, but we have to know we’ll have a tough game.

“When one teams needs the points to stay up, they will do more than 100%.

“For this reason, we have to be ready. It’s a very tough competition, the Premier League, so anything can happen.”

He added of the title race: “Obviously, I would like to be in United’s position, six points ahead.