[Dellas]

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech is confident he will be able to feature in the closing stages of the season after undergoing facial surgery.

The 25-year-old suffered his second serious facial injury in the space of two years in a training-ground clash with team-mate Tal Ben-Haim on Sunday.

"The club said I should be back in two weeks, so we shall see. I believe it will be so," Cech said.

"This season has been awful with injuries but I hope I will be back in the goal soon."


Cech now faces a race to be fit in time for the crucial Premier League clash against Manchester United on 26 April.

Cech confirmed the incident had been nothing more than an unfortunate accident and insisted he did not blame Israeli defender Ben-Haim after the Czech keeper needed 50 stitches.

He said: "We were both trying to stop the goal and he wanted to kick the ball away and I dived for it at the same time.

"We hit each other and he tore my face - it was a coincidence.

"When we dived for the ball it was important the goal was not conceded.

"There are 50 such situations during every training session - it was simply bad luck," he added.

"It is worse for me that after a long problem with my ankle I had restarted training and could finally play."

The Czech Republic international is anxious to return for Avram Grant's side as soon as possible, and there had been concerns that he may also miss Euro 2008.

And Cech confirmed his national coach Karel Bruckner is desperate to have his number one fit for the tournament.

"He called me 10 times - I spoke to him and also Honza Stejskal, the goalkeepers' coach, and also some of my team-mates.

"I have to play football, so we are trying to find a way to protect the wound and to be back as soon as possible.

"My face is sewn, so we must find a way to protect it from tearing again," he explained.

"I believe that a way will be found for me to return as soon as possible - it should not be such a big problem."

source: BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Chelsea | Cech targets quick Blues return

Rumour was he might be out for the season and might not be ready for Euro 2008.

The way he is going he might need to wear a skiing mask to protect that face of his.

Hopefully he will be back soon because with Cudicini apparently out for 2-3weeks we are once again low on keepers.