Chelsea will be without Portuguese internationals Ricardo Carvalho and Deco for several weeks.

Carvalho faces up to a month on the sidelines after the defender was diagnosed with knee ligament damage.

He suffered the injury in the early stages of Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Sunday.

Deco missed the game after tearing a muscle in his upper thigh during the warm-up and has been ruled out for about two weeks.

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The 33-year-old will provide cover for John Mikel Obi in a holding role, with Michael Essien already out for six months.

Deco looks set to miss Chelsea's upcoming games against Portsmouth in the Carling Cup and CFR 1907 Cluj in the Champions League, as well as league games against Stoke and Aston Villa.

The loss of the influential Carvalho could be harder for the Blues to cope with.

Alex came off the bench to replace Carvalho against United at Stamford Bridge and responded with a solid display, but centre back is a position that the club has had problems with in the past.

They will be hopeful of having former Porto defender Carvalho back after the next international break in time to make their Champions League tie against Roma on 22 October.

(BBC)

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