Avram Grant has held clear-the-air talks with Didier Drogba in a
bid to get the striker back onside with Chelsea.
But while Drogba vowed to be "professional" in his behaviour
towards the club and the new manager, the African hit-man is
plunging into depression over Jose Mourinho's departure, as well as
his knee problem which could keep him out for two months.
Drogba was furious when Mourinho left last week, telling friends he
had lost interest in playing for Chelsea and that he wanted to quit
as soon as January. Drogba added he is "depressed, devastated and
deeply unhappy" at Mourinho's departure and his future is still in
grave doubt even after his talks with Grant.
The Ivory Coast striker has not played since aggravating his
long-standing knee injury in the defeat at Aston Villa at the start
of September, which began the slide leading to the final breach
between Mourinho and Roman Abramovich.
Drogba had decided that he would not rush himself back to the
training ground and risk making the injury even worse, instead
demanding he was given enough time to heal properly.
But the Daily Mirror reports that Grant, aware that his new side
are missing their strike leader so badly, made a personal plea to
Drogba to show loyalty to the club and give him the backing he
needs.
An insider told the newspaper: "Avram realised that he needed to
make Didier believe in what he is trying to do at the club now
Mourinho has gone.
"He feels that after the talks they are both of the same mind now
and that Didier is keen to get back onto the pitch and show how
much he has been missed."
If Grant's belief is correct, it will be a massive boost for the
Israeli and the Blues, now down in sixth after suffering their
worst start to a Premier League season since 2000-01, when Luca
Vialli was sacked and replaced by Claudio Ranieri.
But the Israeli's view of the conversation seems to be overly
optimistic, with Drogba still angry at the club and increasingly
concerned about the condition of his knee.