Star striker Didier Drogba has re-iterated his desire to leave Chelsea, but not during the January transfer window.
The Ivory Coast international returned from knee surgery after an eight-game absence to play in Saturday's 1-0 FA Cup third-round victory over London neighbours QPR.
But he will now head off to the African Cup of Nations in Ghana, meaning he will miss the Blues' Carling Cup semi-final, first leg tie at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night and up to five Premier League matches.
However, a more worrying prospect for Chelsea and their fans is that Drogba has once again revealed he wants to quit the west London club.
He told Eurosport: 'It comes from me, I said what I am thinking, that I wanted to leave.'
The 29-year-old admits the departure of former manager Jose Mourinho in September only heightened his desire to leave, but claims he will only seek an exit in the summer as he wants to concentrate on AFCON duty this month.
Drogba said: 'Mourinho's departure didn't help. To the contrary, it made my desire to leave even bigger.'
He added: 'I am not going to speak about my next club and my major objective is the ACN [African Cup of Nations] and winning all the interests we have to win when I'll return for Chelsea.'
