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Premier League

Chelsea have been dealt an injury blow with the news that Ashley Cole is sidelined with a depressed fracture of the tibia.

Cole has been withdrawn from the England squad for their friendly game against Brazil due to the injury.

Cole missed three matches after injuring himself in the Blues' 4-0 thrashing of Atletico Madrid in the Champions League in October.

The left-back re-injured himself against Atletico last week, and it could be worse as it is an aggravation of the old injury.

Cole was injected with painkillers to get over the pain threshold and feature for Chelsea in their 1-0 victory over Manchester United.

There is a possibility that the 28-year-old may face a long period of recovery with this injury.

A spokesman for Chelsea confirmed: "Ashley Cole has not been selected in the England squad for their friendly against Brazil.

"He has a depressed fracture of the tibia, an injury first picked up in the Atletico Madrid home match last month.

"He aggravated the injury before the match against Manchester United and required an injection to play.

"However, he further injured it during the game and has therefore been ruled out of this week's England squad."