Ancelotti hails returning Lamps

Ancelotti hails returning Lamps

Published Dec. 27, 2010 1:15 p.m. ET

The England international has been a big miss for the Blues over recent weeks, with a hernia operation and a number of niggling knocks keeping him sidelined for the best part of four months. His absence coincided with a dip in form which has seen Chelsea drop 15 points out of the last 21 available. Lampard, though, is available again and will be hoping to be handed a starting berth in Monday's crunch clash with Arsenal. Ancelotti has hinted that the talismanic playmaker will be returned to his side at Emirates Stadium, with the Italian quick to point out that the 32-year-old is a unique talent. "In the market there is no player capable of replacing Lampard," he said. "Every player has different skills. John Obi Mikel is not able to score but is fantastic defensively and Ramires is the same. "Michael Essien has, I think, his skill to score from outside the box but he was injured for a month, so his condition has not been so good. He has used this time to improve, so maybe Essien can support the team in front. "But I am happy to have Lampard. I don't expect anything extraordinary from him. Just what he's able to do. He has a special ability and he's always retained that. He hasn't lost any of that. "We have players with great personality. But Lampard is very, very professional. Every day he's focused and has the ability to play 100 per cent every day. And he showed that throughout the injury, spending so much time at Cobham working on his own." Lampard's return should help to sharpen Chelsea's misfiring forward line and Ancelotti is pleased to have a regular source of goals back at his disposal. He added: "It's very important to have his support in front, in our attacking play, and when we have the ball. "That will increase our possibility to score and having him back is fantastic news. Frank's fit, he's excited. For us, he'll be very important. "It's very difficult to find this kind of player, one who has the capability of scoring 20 goals."

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