MX23RW : Sunday, July 7 15:19:01| >> :120:58906:58906:

Ray Wilkins blames Rafael Benitez for Ashley Cole's injury

Wilkins: 'Benitez at fault for Cole injury'
© PA Photos
Ray Wilkins believes that Rafael Benitez should take the blame for Ashley Cole's hamstring injury that rules him out for two weeks.

Former Chelsea coach Ray Wilkins believes that interim manager Rafael Benitez should take the blame for Ashley Cole's hamstring injury.

The England international will be out of action for two weeks after suffering the problem during the Blues' FA Cup quarter-final replay victory over Manchester United yesterday.

Following the blow, Wilkins has claimed that Benitez's decision to rest Cole for Chelsea's 2-1 defeat to Southampton on Saturday made the full-back more prone to injury.

"He never played on Saturday at Southampton, he plays 15 minutes against United and Danny Welbeck takes him on a run and he pulls his hamstring," Wilkins told talkSPORT.

"I honestly feel he has to play all the time, Ashley. He is one of these machines. You have to keep it well oiled and it will fly. Had he played on Saturday, he wouldn't have done that yesterday."

Chelsea will face Manchester City in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

ID:77347: cacheID:77347:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2161:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Roman Abramovich
Read Next:
Wilkins: 'Not many managers left for Chelsea'
>
rhs 2.0
Euro 2024 fixtures header
Tuesday, July 9
 
8pm
Semi-Finals
Spain
vs.
France
Wednesday, July 10
 
8pm
Sunday, July 14
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England31205
Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
4 Serbia Serbia30212

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria32016
Q France France31205
Q Netherlands Netherlands31114
4 Poland Poland30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!