According to Sky Sports

Chelsea striker Andrei Shevchenko will miss the FA Cup final due to a hernia operation.

The Ukraine international was originally pencilled in for surgery at the end of the season, but that has been brought forward to Tuesday.

The deposed Premiership champions had previously hoped that the ?30million signing would figure again before the operation.

But Shevchenko will now sit out Wednesday's game with new champions Manchester United, and the final day clash with Everton.

He will also be ruled out of the FA Cup final against United at the new Wembley Stadium on Saturday 19th May.

The decision to send Shevchenko for an operation on Tuesday will leave Jose Mourinho sweating on his attacking options for the cup final.

Didier Drogba was left out of the 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Sunday due to a long-standing ankle complaint.

The league's top scorer is likely to miss the next two Premiership games, with Mourinho hoping Drogba will be fit for the Wembley showpiece.

If Drogba fails to recover from the problem, then Salomon Kalou will have to lead the line, with Ben Sahar providing the cover as fellow youngster Scott Sinclair, who was on the bench at Arsenal, is cup-tied.

There is also likely to be speculation about whether Shevchenko has played his last game for Chelsea after scoring just four Premiership goals since his big-money arrival from Milan.

Does anyone know how long it takes to FULLY recover from a hernia operation ?

I dare say many will disagree with me but for me this is a blow. This means we are going to grace the first FA Cup final at the new Wembley with our tried and tested long ball to Drogba tactic and we are going to do so when Drogba is not in top form.

Does anyone know how long it takes to FULLY recover from a hernia operation ?

Much depends on the type of surgery. Nowadays there are advanced techniques, which includes inserting a webbing that prevents re-occurence. Patients have the op in the morning and have been known to be on exercise bikes the following day!

Back in the eighties it could take up to six months before training could resume (I suffered that fate myself!)

I dare say many will disagree with me but for me this is a blow. This means we are going to grace the first FA Cup final at the new Wembley with our tried and tested long ball to Drogba tactic and we are going to do so when Drogba is not in top form.

I tend to agree and would add that we missed him ALOT against Liverpool in the champions league where we needed someone up in the final third alongside Drogba to capitialise on his knock-downs. Kalou is a gr8 little player, but he clearly isn't as suited for the role as Sheva.

I dare say many will disagree with me but for me this is a blow. This means we are going to grace the first FA Cup final at the new Wembley with our tried and tested long ball to Drogba tactic and we are going to do so when Drogba is not in top form.

I Disagree!!!

I really cannot understand the idea that if Sheva plays with Drogba we don't play the long ball hoof but if Sheva is not there we have to play route one? I love Drogba and he has had a fantastic season but it was so refreshing against Arsenal how we played football and did not rely on the high long ball. Lamps looked a lot better for it, as did the likes of Joe, Essien, Kalou and SWP. It does not make any sense at all to say "Drogba is back - lets hoof it up to him".

Surely, we can play just like we did against Arsenal (with Bridge keeping his place at left back ) but just bring in Drogba for either Kalou or SWP. On that basis we certainly won't miss Sheva as even his biggest fans on this forum must admit he just isn't good enough right now.

If we play anything like we did against Liverpool last week I will be F***ing Angry

So does anyone know how long it will be before Sheva can start training , maybe a slim chance he could make the bench as the final is nearly 2 weeks away

Nibs

There is no reason why we shouldn't however the harsh reality is that that is what we will do. When Drogba plays the passes get higher and longer. You are right about the performance against Arsenal but I would also mention the first half against Bolton, a half where we played good passing football for the first time in ages, then Sheva went off at HT to be replaced by Drogba and the rest of the game saw us resorting to hoof and charge (OK not quite as bad as that).

Before anyone jumps in I amnot having a go at Drogba here!

Looking at this from a slightly different angle, neither the Scousers or Bolton are exactly great footballing sides. One thing you can say about the Mancs is that there's very little danger of them parking the bus behind midfield. It takes two to tango right? So isn't it possible that the way the Mancs usually play will actually play a factor in enabling us to put on a more attacking, attractive display?

Does anyone know how long it takes to FULLY recover from a hernia operation ?

Took me about 2 weeks, they told me it would not be so painful after and I could make my own way home from the hospital after that. Bullsh*t, had to get someone to come drive me home, spent the next week in bed feeling sorry for myself. I'd say in 2-3 weeks 100%.