Avram Grant is hopeful that Ricardo Carvalho will return for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg, but has ruled Petr Cech out for another two weeks.

Speaking prior to the squad's final training session ahead of our meeting with Fenerbahçe, Grant discussed his centre-half's chances.

'He trained yesterday, but we have a training now. He is looking good but we will know after the training more,' the manager said.

Cech's poor luck with injury continues however, and Grant has now ruled out his first choice stopper for another fortnight, after he picked up a facial injury in training.

'I don't feel so good about it but every player that is injured does not make me happy,' Grant admitted. 'He was more than a little unlucky this year, and was great in training, felt good, and then something happened in training. I think he will be out two weeks, something like this.'

Grant knows his side must win tomorrow, and he believes they stand a good chance of making history for the club should we reach the last four.

'I think it is a big opportunity to do it, we spoke about this with the players and want to use this opportunity, we know it won't be easy but all this season was very hard with many difficulties.

'We passed these and came to this stage, and want to do our best to use this opportunity.'

He is however not kidding himself that this will be an easy task, and rates our opposition highly. There is also a firm belief that lessons have been learned after last week's 2-1 defeat.

'Fenerbahçe is a good team and we will work like we need to, they are a good team with good players and know how to play good football. They had good results until now and had a good result against us.

'Sometimes it happens in football, it's not the first time it has happened to us this year, every club has it. Sometimes when you dominate the game you are less concentrated, which happened to us.

'We say we will learn from our mistakes. First we want to dominate the game, which will not be easy tomorrow, and second I am sure we will concentrate all the game tomorrow.

'Of course we thought about Istanbul, but I don't think any game is the same as a the last game. Tomorrow it will be a different game.

'What happened in Istanbul happened, it was one of our good performances with a worse result. After any game I think what things we can do better, even if we win 6-0.'

'I think first we lost the game even though we were much better than Fenerbahçe. The players want very much to be in the semi-finals, and everybody knows it will not be an easy game, but we want it.'

With this among his biggest games since taking charge in September, many would be feeling the pressure, but Grant explained that at a club like Chelsea, this is the norm rather than the exception.

'There are so many big games in this club, this is one more. When you come to the second game of the quarter-final it is more important, but all the games in Europe until now were big games,' he reasoned.

'We started with a draw at home and needed to chase, now again we need to win and that is what is important.'


Finally, Grant was able to pass comment on the weekend's domestic football, which saw us move within three points of the Premier League's summit, and a good friend of the Israeli reach a Wembley final.

'We are before a Champions League game and I don't want to speak about the league, but everybody is happy compared to what we had, a situation nobody saw it would be. Three points behind Man United we are happy and we hope for better, but we have a game tomorrow,' he began.

'I want to congratulate Portsmouth and Harry Redknapp for reaching the FA Cup final. I like him and the owner [Alexandre] Gaydamak very much, and he is doing a very good job in a very quiet way. I hope they will take the final.'

Full commentary is available on Chelsea Plus and on Real Radio London on DAB. The game can be followed on this website via the Matchday Centre.