Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink believes the return to fitness of
midfielder Michael Essien will be crucial as the Blues face
Juventus in the last-16 of the Champions League on Tuesday.
Essien was sidelined for six months earlier this season with
knee ligament damage but he will be in the squad against Juventus
and could even start the game.
Chelsea are chasing Manchester United at the top of the Premier
League as well as reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup and
Hiddink is thrilled to have Essien back to boost their quest for
glory on all three fronts.
''I think it's very important from now until the end of the
season to have a big squad in terms of numbers and quality,'' said
Hiddink. ''Essien has come back so we have more depth in quality in
the squad. He can make his contribution like he did in the past. He
was out for many, many months, so it's not easy for him to get the
rhythm of the game from the first minute he plays.
''But he's very strong, a very positive guy and he can have a
huge impact for the rest of the season.
''He will be in the 18, so he's ready to start. Let's see what
will happen tomorrow. We can either start with him or bring him on
later, as we did at Coventry, but he's okay and in the squad for
the match.''
Hiddink has also vowed Chelsea will not sit back and gift
Juventus the initiative in their last-16 clash.
The Dutchman insists the Blues will stay true to their attacking
''character'' when they head to the Stadio Olimpico with a slender
one-goal advantage from the first leg at Stamford Bridge.
''It's always nice to have a clean sheet,'' said Hiddink.
''That's very important. But if you just wait in the second leg and
hope not to concede, willing not to concede a goal and not have any
initiative in the game, you will have a lot of problems.
''So, whenever we can, the team must attack. It's in their
character. We've not come here just to defend. That would be asking
for trouble.
''At this level, it's tight. Our game at Stamford Bridge was
tight. Tomorrow it will be too. When you are in this period in
Europe, I don't want to talk about luck but you have to force luck
a little bit.''
Hiddink will wait until the last moment to decide whether top
scorer Nicolas Anelka has recovered sufficiently from his bruised
toe or whether midfielder Deco suffers any reaction to his
hamstring tear.
''Anelka has started to train again - yesterday, a bit the day
before - and we'll see what his reaction is. We have a few hours to
make a decision.
''Deco started back a few days ago. He's a little more
problematic. He's fit, but his injury was a muscle - a hamstring -
not a rupture but you must be careful. We'll look at him after
training to see whether he's in the 18.''
Meanwhile Hiddink quashed speculation that if he remains as
Chelsea manager after the summer, captain John Terry and his
England team-mate Ashley Cole would be shown the door.
Terry and Cole were both spoken to by Hiddink after they were
spotted out in the early hours of last Thursday morning. Cole was
later arrested for being drunk and disorderly.
But the Dutch coach re-iterated he has no intention of staying
beyond the agreed interim period and insisted there was no problem
with the defensive duo.
Hiddink declared: ''First of all, beyond the summer, is an issue
we've spoken about for a long time.
''I've spoken clearly on that. Secondly, I don't want to go in
to rumours but I can deny fully what the media tried to invent
regarding John Terry and Ashley Cole.''