Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole hopes he can recover in time to face Wolves this weekend despite suffering from a fractured tibia.

Cole first sustained the injury in the Blues' UEFA Champions League win over Atletico Madrid in October and needed pain-killers to get him on the field against Manchester United just before the international break.

The problem automatically excluded him from England's friendly against Brazil and there were reports that the full-back would be out for several weeks.

However, Cole has been training as per normal but has been wearing protective shin pads in matches.

The England international has said that he is confident that Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti will play him against Wolves on Saturday.

"I started training for the last two or three days and I'm feeling better," Cole told Sky Sports News.

"I've had a special shinpad made for my shin and hopefully I'll be selected for Saturday.

"I've had a week's rest now, so it feels a little bit better and I've got to wear a shinpad to cover the knock.

"I've been playing with it and it did affect me a bit, but now I'm over it and I hope the shinpad can help.

"Hopefully, I'll be in the squad or the team on Saturday."