Chelsea have confirmed that Ashley Cole has been diagnosed with a fractured tibia and the left-back is now expected to be sidelined for a number of weeks.

GettyImagesAshley Cole battles with Anderson at Stamford Bridge.

The injury means that Cole is missing from the England squad that will face Brazil in Qatar on Saturday and Chelsea have also been hit hard by the news.

Cole first sustained the injury in a Champions League game against Atletico Madrid on October 21, subsequently missing three games, and required pain-killing injections to play in the 1-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday.

However, Cole will now require a spell on the sidelines after aggravating the problem at Stamford Bridge.

"Ashley Cole has not been selected in the England squad for their friendly against Brazil," a Chelsea spokesman said. "He has a depressed fracture of the tibia, an injury first picked up in the Atletico Madrid home match last month.

"He aggravated the injury before the match against Manchester United and required an injection to play. However, he further injured it during the game and has therefore been ruled out of this week's England squad.''

In Cole's absence, Carlo Ancelotti could turn to Paulo Ferreira following the Portuguese full back's return from injury while summer signing Yuri Zhirkov is also an option.