Drogba fits to play

Didier Drogba is set to make his return to the Chelsea line-up for Wednesday's Carling Cup clash against Fulham after spending three weeks on the sidelines with a head injury. Drogba has missed recent action for his club following a nasty collision with Norwich City goalkeeper John Ruddy. The striker is likely to partner Romelu Lukaku up-front in a new-look Chelsea side, with manager Andre Villas-Boas stating his desire to adopt a new strategy in blooding young players.

"It is a different approach," Villas-Boas said. "We want to win the most amount of trophies possible, but we have taken this approach to the League Cup to promote the youngsters. We have enough good players to try to win the trophy and we will try to give opportunities to players that have been used less. It's good for us that Fulham is the challenge because it's a Premier League team, so it gives us an idea of where we are and where we stand regarding the young players that we are trying to bring through," said Villas-Boas.

Lukaku, Josh McEachran, Oriol Romeu and defender Ryan Bertrand are all expected to get their chance to impress against the Cottagers.

Drogba, meanwhile, says he has a new attitude toward his career after becoming part of a truth and reconciliation panel for his war-torn home nation, the Ivory Coast. "I wasn't there when [the violence] happened but I have lost some people who are really important to me and for this reason I think I see life with different eyes, from a much different perspective. When people close to you die it is difficult to take but you have to go on and that's why I have become involved as I don't want it to happen again. To say sorry is not easy. I think that is the most challenging game of our life [in] Ivory Coast. As a famous footballer, I don't know if I will bring much [to the commission], but as an Ivorian I think I can bring a lot because I know my country and I love it and I will do everything for it," he said.