Drogba in line for early return

Chelsea v Valencia:Avram Grant believes Didier Drogba could yet play a part for Chelsea before he departs for the African Cup of Nations in early January, having claimed yesterday the striker's knee operation had been a success and that he may return to action inside three weeks.

"It looks like it will be three weeks," said the Chelsea manager. "I hope he can play before he goes away with the Ivory Coast. First, I want him to feel well but I hope because the operation went well."

Drogba checked himself in for surgery in London on Saturday, having carried the injury, which has caused serious damage to the meniscus around the knee joint, for at least 12 months. He is determined to lead the Ivory Coast in the tournament in Ghana, which begins on January 20th - players must present themselves 15 days beforehand - but Grant has raised hopes of a surprise comeback for Drogba.

The strength of Chelsea's squad faces a test over the busy December period but Grant claims it has shown its mettle already, proving itself to be more than a match for those at Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool. All three of Chelsea's title rivals have suffered poor results of late without key players but Grant has battled on without a host of star names to piece together an unbeaten run of 15 games.

"We have built, we have showed good attitude, we have won a lot of games and we have played better football," said Grant. "And if I may say, with a lot of injuries. I never speak about this before the games but it shows the character of the team."

Chelsea take on Valencia tonight, having already made sure of winning Group B, and Grant's injury list appears set to shorten significantly. Petr Cech, Paulo Ferreira, Florent Malouda and Claude Makelele all trained last night leaving only Drogba, Michael Ballack and Ricardo Carvalho on the sidelines.

Grant has fond memories of Valencia and his team's 2-1 victory over the Spanish club at the Mestalla on October 3rd. "The turning point for our season came at Valencia," said Steve Sidwell, the midfielder. "Now we are back in contention and we're in a good place coming up to Christmas."