Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has revealed he has been playing in pain for a number of seasons.

The Ivory Coast captain had a long standing groin issue resulting from a hernia injury. He had an operation on his hernia only just over a week ago and returned to play 30 minutes in the Community Shield against Manchester United at Wembley in his side’s 3-1 defeat. Drogba now said he feels fully fit for the first time since he joined Chelsea six years ago.

This bodes pretty well for Chelsea fans going into the new season. Drogba managed to score 44 goals in 48 games last year in all competitions, not bad for someone who wasn’t 100 per cent. When you consider the amount of goals he has scored in the last few seasons, many Premier League defenders won’t be looking forward to facing a fully fit Didier. The 32-year-old seems to be getting better with age, he looked unplayable at times last season and it looks as though he’ll be even better this time around.

Despite his injury, last season was Drogba’s best return in a Chelsea shirt – his most prolific season before that was in 2006/07 with 39 goals. Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti will be looking for him to provide the goals needed to win back-to-back titles. Although it will take a few weeks for Drogba to reach match fitness, when he does he has promised to be firing on all cylinders. The Chelsea betting suggests the side will top the league again, but his goals will be crucial.

Drogba had a decent World Cup this summer in South Africa. He scored against Brazil as the Ivory Coast finished third in the Group of Death. As captain, he can be proud of his county’s effort, along with the loss to Brazil, Ivory Coast beat North Korea and drew with Portugal to finish third in the group. He will have left the competition frustrated however; an injured arm meant once again Drogba wasn’t 100 per cent. If he was fully fit then his country would have stood a much better chance to qualify from the group.

He couldn’t for asked for an easier start to the season – Chelsea will play a newly promoted team and no one will be making West Brom betting tips for the clash.

His frustrations from the summer and previous seasons will all be forgotten by Drogba if he gets off to a flying start for Chelsea this season.

Filed under: Current Players, Pre-season, Rants