Injured Boulahrouz set for long absence

Chelsea defender Khalid Boulahrouz will be out "for some time" after dislocating his shoulder in the 4-0 FA Cup fifth-round victory over Norwich at Stamford Bridge.

Boulahrouz was taken off two minutes before the interval in what was his first start since returning from a knee ligament injury.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho confirmed the Dutch defender faces a long spell on the sidelines, saying: "Boulahrouz has a dislocated shoulder so he will be out for some time."

But Mourinho refused to let the injury dampen his enthusiasm for the week ahead as Chelsea prepare to face Porto in the Champions League and Arsenal in the final of the Carling Cup next Sunday.

"The only thing not positive was the Boulahrouz injury. If you can forget that, the result was good and we are in the quarter-final. The confidence is still there and this week we have two finals. Porto is like a final and Arsenal is really a final.

"The result was a bit heavy for Norwich. They played well and gave us a difficult first half. To be fair I think we were a bit lucky to be winning 1-0 at half-time. In the second half, the second goal gave them no chance to react. After that we had a lot of chances and space and I could rest players and start thinking about the game on Wednesday.

"I thought before the game I could give some rest to some players so I left Ricardo Carvalho and Claude Makelele out and put some players on the bench. The first moment I thought the game was over, I took off Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard."

The awful state of the Stamford Bridge pitch vexed the Portuguese coach, who confirmed it will be torn up in time for the return leg with Porto in the Champions League - even offering to take up a shovel and help out if necessary.

"This was the last game for this pitch," said Mourinho. "(Sunday) it is taken up. I hope the next pitch is better for the game against Porto. The competition needs a proper pitch. We want a good pitch from now until the end of the season.

"We are disappointed with the pitch and I told people one or two months ago that the pitch was very bad. I have other things to do but if they need any help I am ready for it because we are desperate to get rid of this pitch."