Chelsea remain four points clear at the top of the EPL despite a shock defeat at previously-struggling Liverpool on Sunday - and despite mounting injury and illness worries concerning big-name players Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole and the longer-term injured Frank Lampard.

Meanwhile, the club have sacked long-time servant and current assistant coach Ray Wilkins.

And they have denied reports that they are seeking to move from their 105-year-old home at Stamford Bridge to a bigger stadium complex at nearby Earl’s Court.

Chelsea’s medical staff discovered this week that star striker Drogba had been suffering from malaria since early October.

 

A feverish condition ruled him out of two games last month and he was only a half-time substitute in the 2-0 defeat at Liverpool.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti said: “We found out on Monday when tests showed he had malaria. I don’t know where he got it from.”

But the Blues supremo added, before Chelsea’s 1-0 home win over Fulham, in which Drogba played the full 90 minutes: “He’s had treatment and now he’s OK. He’ll come back immediately in the best condition.

“(Malaria) was serious once. Now you can treat it well and move on very quickly.”

Left-back Ashley Cole last week revealed that “sometimes I don’t train” because of long-standing ankle problems, the most recent when he fractured his ankle at Everton last February.

Cole claimed: “I think I’ve got back to my best” but admitted: “After games it gets a bit stiff and the medical department say ‘Just stay inside and rest, you don’t need to (train), you run enough in games.”

Meanwhile Frank Lampard seems to have recovered from the injury complications he has suffered since undergoing hernia surgery in September.

Ancelotti said: “I think he’ll be OK for Sunday. I don’t think he can play for 90 minutes but he can play part of the game. If he’s OK, he can start.” Chelsea host Sunderland in the EPL on Sunday afternoon.

Wilkins was sacked from his assistant coaching role at Chelsea, despite spending part of the day watching Chelsea’s second-string in a training-ground friendly.

Chief Executive Ron Gourlay told the 54-year-old that his services would no longer be required with immediate effect. There had been no indication of the move and Wilkins had played his full role during Wednesday’s win over Fulham.

The club have refused to give a reason for a decision described by observers, perhaps euphemistically, as “clinical.”

But the suggestion is that Wilkins’ role as a link between the Italian manager and the team had diminished in importance as Ancelotti had quickly adapted to English life and, importantly, the language.

A story in the Guardian newspaper on Monday claimed Chelsea were in talks with developers Capital and Counties over a possible move to a bigger stadium on the site of the Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre, which is due for demolition after the 2012 Olympics.

However, Chelsea spokesman Steve Atkins said: “We don’t have any plans to move stadium,” adding the caveat, “at this time.”