Yuri Zhirkov has allayed fears that he needs an operation on his right knee.

Chelsea’s marquee summer signing has been unable to make his debut following an £18million move from CSKA Moscow.

The Russia winger, 26 today, hopes to return to training in the next few days but will not be fit to face Fulham in the west London derby on Sunday.

Instead, he is targetting the home tie against Burnley on Saturday week as the perfect game in which to make his bow.

Zhirkov has dismissed reports in Russia that he was set for a lengthy absence because of surgery.

‘I don’t know who spread these rumours, but they don’t correspond to reality,’ he said.

‘My condition has improved and the doctors say that in two or three days I will be able to return to training, although not fully. I’ll work on an individual program.

‘All will be clear after an examination on Thursday. I was feeling pain and noticeably limping when running, but now that’s behind me. I just need to tone up the leg.’

Zhirkov has been troubled by a compound knee injury that worsened after his appearance for Chelsea against AC Milan on the clubs’ pre-season US tour.

Chelsea midfielder Yuri Zhirkov is close to returning from his injury after he trained with his teammates. Mikel has resumed training less than three weeks after he suffered a knee ligament injury in the 3-1 defeat against Arsenal. He was expected to be out for a month but the midfielder could be ready for the trip to Bolton on 24 January.

Yuri Zhirkov, who hasn’t featured since November due to a calf and Achilles problem, is in light training while Alex is back at the club after an operation in Brazil on a knee injury and is on target to return next month.

Yuri Zhirkov has not recovered from his calf injury yet and will not play against Bolton. Frank Lampard will miss out once again for Chelsea, while skipper John Terry is a doubt ahead of their journey to the North West.

Lampard has been unable to shake off a calf injury, leading to his absence, while Terry is expected to be available despite picking up a back problem.

Ancelotti remains without Alex (knee), Yuri Zhirkov (calf) and Yossi Benayoun (Achilles).

Chelsea’s Yuri Zhirkov is suffering with his calf injury so he is a doubt to play against Fulham. Luiz, signed from Benfica on transfer deadline day, made his debut as a second-half substitute in last weekend’s defeat to Liverpool, and manager Carlo Ancelotti has now confirmed the Brazil international will be in his starting XI at Craven Cottage.

Jose Bosingwa could be the man to make way for Luiz, with Ancelotti revealing the player is doubtful with an unspecified injury, while Alex (knee) and Yuri Zhirkov (calf) remain sidelined.

And the Italian is expected to stick with the attacking trio of Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka despite their disappointing showing against Liverpool last time out.

Yuri Zhirkov has said that he will be leaving Chelsea if he does not get any chances in the future. The Russia midfielder, who joined the Premier League champions from CSKA Moscow for £18m in July 2009 is quoted in the Sun as saying: “My only target at the moment is to get back into the main Chelsea team. If I’m successful with that, all the other issues will resolve themselves.

“But if I fail to achieve that between now and the summer, I will start thinking of other possibilities.”

The 27-year-old has featured in 17 matches for Chelsea this season, most recently as a late substitute in their 2-0 Champions League victory over FC Copenhagen on Tuesday. “My condition has visibly improved,” added Zhirkov.

Yuri Zhirkov was one of the players who tried to unsuccessfully change the match against Man Utd for Chelsea. It might be a little late for the liking of Chelsea fans, but Carlo Ancelotti has finally made some changes in the 70th minute of the match, bringing on left winger Florent Malouda and forward Nicolas Anelka for Yuri Zhirkov and Didier Drogba in like for like changes. Chelsea’s tactics seem to be working, so Ancelotti simply felt the need to replace some players with fresh legs.

The Malouda switch was an obvious one, but everyone was stunned when Didier Drogba’s name and not that of Fernando Torres was called to come off for Nicolas Anelka. Drogba has been much more effective than Torres in this match, and no one was more confused at the substitution than he was. Drogba shook the hand of his manager when he came off and was not disrespectful, but still, at the same time, looked absolutely dumbfounded that he had been substituted off. Frankly, so am I.

Yuri Zhirkov has claimed Chelsea’s medical staff denied him the chance to take part in the run-in despite him feeling he had recovered from injury.Zhirkov, 27, has endured a difficult spell at Stamford Bridge since signing from CSKA Moscow in 2009, with injuries hampering his opportunities at the club. He has suffered problems with his Achilles and knees this season and his most recent appearance for the club came from the bench in the 1-0 Champions League defeat at home to Manchester United at the start of April.