Frank Lampard will return to the starting line-up against Manchester United this weekend, a major boost says Carlo Ancelotti.
The manager has had to make do without the goalscoring midfielder since the end of August, and his absence has been felt in recent weeks as goals and form have dried up, but manager Ancelotti believes Lampard's return will benefit the team's confidence as we search for a first league win in over a month.
'He played 60 minutes without problems and finally he will play on Sunday, the Italian reported on Friday afternoon. 'He will start. It is good news because this team missed Lampard, his ability to score from midfield and his experience.
'It is very good news and he can help us in the next games because he is fresh and has strong desire to come back to play.
'They arrived at this game better than us with more confidence but to play against Man United can be a fantastic motivation for us. We can use this game to move on from a difficult moment.
'I think the difficult moment is finished, there was a different atmosphere in the training ground this week and I hope that in the game we are able to do our best. We trained well. We had the possibility to train with all the players and so the atmosphere was different compared to the last weeks - better.'
Sunday's match-up against the league leaders comes between London derbies against Tottenham and Arsenal. It is a period Ancelotti admits is significant as we look to defend our Barclays Premier League title and return to winning ways.
'Last year they were the most difficult opponents and were in the fight for the title until the last game. I think they will be the same this year', he confirmed. 'Last year was good for us because we were able to win both games against them.
'Now they have an advantage in the table and we want to use this game to improve our play and our result, and stay close. They will be important games but I think that they are not decisive games,' he continued. 'There are a lot of games, and a lot of teams involved at the top of the table thinking they can win the title.
'It is too early now to say it could be a decisive game. It is an important game, also for your confidence. If you are able to beat Man United as we did last year, it was good for the mentality, character and personality of the team.
'I think the match against Tottenham was good for us. Not the result obviously because we could win, but the atmosphere and mentality was good. '
Ancelotti also confirmed that Yury Zhirkov and Jose Bosingwa remain out with calf and hamstring injuries respectively, in addition to longer-term absentees Alex (knee) and Yossi Benayoun (Achilles).