Rafael Benitez plays down criticism over Cole injury

Rafael Benitez has hit back at criticism from Ray Wilkins that Ashley Cole’s hamstring injury was the Spaniard’s fault, joking that he thought the accusation was an April Fool.

Benitez, the Chelsea interim manager, rested Cole for Saturday’s Premier League defeat at Southampton and the left-back was then forced off in the FA Cup quarter-final replay against Manchester United on Monday.

Wilkins, a former Chelsea assistant manager, claimed Benitez had "taken liberties" with his team selection against Southampton in the European champions' push for a top-four place.

Well oiled
"I honestly feel he has to play all the time, Ashley. He is one of these machines," Wilkins told TalkSport. "You have to keep it well oiled and it will fly. Had he played on Saturday, he wouldn't have done that yesterday."

Benitez, who revealed that he could stay in England at the end of the campaign, issued a good-humoured response.

“I thought it was April 1st,” he said. “It was the first of April. You can’t take the comments seriously - first of April.

“I have a degree in sports science from Spain, I have spoken to many people about injuries. It’s the first time I ever heard anything like this.”

Chelsea will be without Cole for about two weeks, meaning Ryan Bertrand will deputise in today's Europa League quarter-final first leg against Rubin Kazan at Stamford Bridge.

Cup-tied
The former Newcastle striker Demba Ba is cup-tied and is likely to be replaced by Fernando Torres, while Gary Cahill is injured. Benitez claimed the mood at Chelsea is positive after defeating United and when asked about receiving credit for that result, he said:

“I don’t need credit. The players and staff were happy and the fans were pleased. Everyone wants to win every single game – fans, staff, players. I’m quite happy with that. “

Bertrand (23) has impressed when filling in for Cole, and he says putting pressure on the England player is key.

"It's always going to be the target. It's down to me to keep training well and get performances up to a level and keep pushing and pushing until the time comes," he said.
Guardian Service