Didier Drogba has malaria virus

[DYC. 7,542]

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba in malaria scare

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has had treatment for malaria, according to Blues manager Carlo Ancelotti.

Drogba came on in the second half of Chelsea's 2-0 defeat at Liverpool on Sunday

The Italian said he was unsure how the Ivory Coast forward picked up the tropical disease, but is now fine and will start against Fulham on Wednesday.

Drogba complained of a fever on the eve of Chelsea's game at Liverpool on Sunday although he played the second half of the 2-0 defeat.

"We found out [on Monday] when tests showed he had malaria," said Ancelotti.

"He has this virus and, obviously, he lost power and training.

"He lost his condition. He's had treatment and now he's OK. He'll come back immediately in the best condition.

"He had malaria. He had the tests in the last day, and they showed this kind of virus. Now he's good.

"I don't know where he got it from. I gave him a few days off and he went on holiday for a few days, and then he has malaria. But it's over now. He's OK."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/9172276.stm

[zolayes 14,489]

not surprising he hasnt been at his best lately

[DYC. 7,542]

Wonder how low he's had the virus. If he had it since the start of the season, it would explain his poor form this season.

[BRMC 12]

He started the season in typical blistering form imo only recently has he eased off

[Styles 9,790]

That is terrible news. Hopefully it was the mild form of malaria and nothing serious. It took players like Kolo Toure a long time to recover from the virus.

Drogba isn't a young guy either so the club should be careful. Starting him tomorrow is madness but we're so weak and light up front ( just two senior strikers, the useless Kalou and Sturridge who Ancelotti doesn't rate) so he almost has to play.

The decision of going into yet another season without a good 3rd stiker to rotate with Anelka and Drogba is going to cost us big.

[BRMC 12]

Which good third striker could we have got in the summer? we tried for Torres and got rejected. Kalou is good enough anyway aswell as the youngsters, it didnt seem to cost us last year.

[Styles 9,790]

Which good third striker could we have got in the summer? we tried for Torres and got rejected. Kalou is good enough anyway aswell as the youngsters, it didnt seem to cost us last year.

Are you suggesting that Chelsea could not find a better player than Kalou to alternate with Drogba and Anelka?

[DYC. 7,542]

We should get a true striker to back up Drogba.

It's obvious Anelka is no longer the man to take over his role in his absence since he always drops soooo deep. Seriously, he would pick up the ball at Cech if it was up to him. And the worst thing is, he doesn't do anything special when he does drop deep, he actually meses up our tempo in passing.

He (pretty much) always picks up the ball around the circle, walks with the ball a bit and gives a simple pass or worse, a back pass to deeper position then we were in when he received the ball (10 seconds of game time and a potential threatning attack/goal scoring opportunity wasted).

It's more tolerable when he does so from his role from the sides (when we're winning). But when he does that as our main striker, it drives me absolutely crazy (!).

It's either Ancelotti manning up and telling him that he is most effective, simply briliant, in and around the box and that he should stick there or getting a true striker to back up him up.

Or even better, having the guts to just make Sturridge Drogba's replacement in his absence and allowing Danny to show his quality and develop as a striker.

That way we can see if he's good to back him up and eventually take his place or if the club has to go look for another player to back him up/replace him.

Danny is not the player to come from the side. There's a huge chance of him ending up in Kalou II, in that role.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Wonder how low he's had the virus. If he had it since the start of the season, it would explain his poor form this season.

7 goals and six assists whilst suffering from malaria? Take that Cheryl Cole!

[DYC. 7,542]

7 goals and six assists whilst suffering from malaria? Take that Cheryl Cole!

Statistics don't say much as they can be very deceiving.

Let's say a player scores four goals in a match and gives two assists in a different match, let's say simple a pass to team mate and the team mate scores a long ranger and a corner he took got headed in by one of his team mates, but was poor in his next six matches.

His statistics would say he's been great (four goals and two assists in seven matches) but who ever watched his matches would know that he has been poor.

And to clarify what i meant about Didier's form, with poor form i didn't mean he sucked but he just hasn't been himself this season (except for the first two, three matches).

And we still don't know how long he's had malaria.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Ok this might sound odd but.. Thank god for that!

I was worried it was just his age meaning a bit of decline in form. But if it's a case of, treatable, malaria then he should be fit & firing in no time :chelsea2:

[BRMC 12]

Hes had it for a month according to the BBC

[BRMC 12]

Are you suggesting that Chelsea could not find a better player than Kalou to alternate with Drogba and Anelka?

No im guessing we could but cant really think of anyone off the top of my head whos available and already an established player.

[Rubber bullets 1,183]

Well this is certainly a huge jump from the harmless "his ill" statement.

[toddandrewblue 19]

Let's hope the medication works as quickly as they say and he's back to his usual form soon. Wouldn't be good to go into the Christmas period without a strong Drogba. Get well soon Didier!

[Steve 10,227]

Thank god for Didier. This could of been a lot more serious then what it was (if reports are correct). If it was not treated straight away we might not of been seeing Didier on the field for a very long time. A lot of people from Africa can get this virus but luckily enough they diagnosed it when they did.

[Rambo 1,729]

Well said Steve, we're lucky Drogba was treated in time.

[Kez 2,727]

Got really worried when i seen headlines what a massive loss he would be, but relieved to hear he's starting tomorrow