Chelsea's hopes of reaching the European Cup final suffered a setback yesterday when Damien Duff sustained a shoulder injury which rules him out of Wednesday's game with Monaco and may force him to miss the rest of the season.
The winger dislocated his right shoulder for the second time in little more than four months after a fall in training, and that may have serious implications not only for Chelsea's chances of overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the European Cup semi-final, but also for their hopes of finishing second in the Premiership.
"It's important to wait one week and then we will decide what is the best for him," said Chelsea's manager Claudio Ranieri, who admitted that an operation will probably be necessary in the long term.
"Of course, he could miss the rest of the season but maybe there is a chance to see him again. He had a little tackle with Glen Johnson, fell against the shoulder and it dislocated again."
Duff was out for 3 weeks after dislocating the shoulder in December, so he will almost certainly miss the rest of the league programme, which has just over two weeks remaining and includes a potential second-place decider at Manchester United. The European Cup final takes place in less than four weeks.
Of most concern to Ranieri, however, will be Duff's absence against Monaco as it robs Chelsea of their most obvious and consistent source of inspiration for a game in which they must score at least twice. Ranieri said of Duff earlier this season: "He is the man who can open every door."
On a brighter note, the first-choice goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini may be in contention for Wednesday after breaking a bone in a hand during training in March. He returned to full training this week.
