• I prefer to remain in London at Chelsea, says Italian manager
• Will reveal what he ‘truly thinks’ of Mourinho if Chelsea win title

The Chelsea manager, Carlo Ancelotti, has insisted he is not interested in replacing Marcello Lippi as the coach of Italy after the World Cup. Reports in Italy have linked Ancelotti as one of the candidates to succeed Lippi but in an interview with the Italian men’s monthly magazine Max, which goes on sale on Thursday, Ancelotti said: “I am not interested in the national team. I prefer to remain in London at Chelsea and lead the team to a Champions League final.”

Ancelotti, who joined the Blues from Milan in the summer, is looking forward to guiding his side to silverware this season. Chelsea lead the Premier League with a one-point advantage over Manchester United and if he takes Chelsea to the league title, Ancelotti has promised to give some insight into his difficult relationship with the former Blues manager José Mourinho.

The two clashed last year when Ancelotti was still the manager of Milan and Mourinho was in his first season with Internazionale. “If I win the league title with Chelsea I will say what I truly think of the Inter coach,” said Ancelotti.

Ancelotti’s Chelsea host Mourinho’s Inter on 16 March in the Champions League needing to overturn a 2-1 deficit.

Carlo AncelottiChelseaItalyguardian.co.uk

• Keeper taken off with torn calf muscle
• Fitness in doubt for Inter second leg

Petr Cech gave Chelsea a major injury scare last night when he was forced out of the first leg of their Champions League tie with a torn calf muscle. The Czech Republic international will now undergo scans to determine the full extent of the damage, with the Chelsea manager, Carlo Ancelotti, hoping that fears of a lengthy lay-off which could wreck the remainder of the goalkeeper’s season are not realised. The indications in Italy last night, in the aftermath of Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat, were that Cech had to be considered a doubt for the return fixture against the Italian champions in three weeks’ time. Cech himself appeared to know straightaway that there was a problem, after he stumbled innocuously on the hour mark with no other player in attendance. He signalled immediately to the bench that he had to be withdrawn. “Cech had an injury on his calf and we have to control his condition over the next few days,” Ancelotti said. “And we will see when he can return to the squad.” Henrique Hilario was sent on to replace Cech and he stands to become a key figure in Chelsea’s hunt for both the Premier League title and Champions League progression in the coming weeks.

Champions LeagueChelseaInternazionaleDavid Hytnerguardian.co.uk