Robben sidelined with broken foot

Chelsea winger Arjen Robben has broken two metatarsal bones in his foot and will be out for at least six weeks.

Robben had an MRI scan on the injury, sustained during the Premiership win at Blackburn, on Monday. "Six weeks is the average time to heal this injury and then I need a few more weeks to be completely fit again," he told Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. "I had a feeling it was serious but because of the swelling it was impossible to make a final diagnosis." The 21-year-old missed the first three months of the season with a similar injury after a challenge with Roma's Olivier Dacourt. And he added: "It felt different then last summer when I had the same injury on my other foot. "Then I could walk already after three days but I stayed sidelined for a long period. I hope that it will now take me six to eight weeks." Chelsea physio Mike Banks was hopeful that Robben could return at some point in March. "The fractures are tiny and he could be playing next month," Banks told the club's website. "One is a chip on the side of his foot, the other is a small break on the third metatarsal. "But this is not the traditional metatarsal that has become so famous since the last World Cup and which has kept Scott Parker out for two months."

David Beckham suffered a broken metatarsal in the build up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan. Robben, who has been a key part of the Blues' push for four trophies, claims he knew instantly something was wrong when he was felled by Blackburn midfielder Aaron Mokoena. "I felt my leg go," he said. "I felt it straight away after Mokoena hit me with a wild kick on my left foot."
