Ricardo Carvalho added to Chelsea’s injury woes when the English Premier League title-chasers said the defender could be out of action for at least a month.

Centre-half Carvalho suffered ankle ligament damage during Chelsea’s 5-0 win away to basement club Portsmouth, a victory that left them just a point behind leaders Manchester United. If the injury is worse than first feared, Carvalho could miss the rest of this season.

“The club will be able to determine over the next 24 hours whether the injury requires corrective surgery, however we can confirm at this point that he’ll be out for at least four weeks.”

- A Chelsea club statement on Carvalho

“Chelsea can confirm that Ricardo Carvalho suffered ankle ligament damage in last night’s game against Portsmouth,” a club spokesman said Thursday. “The club will be able to determine over the next 24 hours whether the injury requires corrective surgery, however we can confirm at this point that he’ll be out for at least four weeks.”

Carvalho’s injury has left Chelsea with just two first-choice central defenders in Brazilian Alex and captain John Terry. The Portuguese international’s setback comes just days after right-back Branislav Ivanovic was ruled out for a month following a knee injury sustained during the 1-1 draw at Blackburn last weekend.

The Blues have been without left-back Ashley Cole (ankle), midfielder Michael Essien (knee) and right-back Jose Bosingwa (ankle) for much of the current season.

World Cup Record: Won 1966, Semi-Finals 1990
Manager: Fabio Capello
Key Player: Wayne Rooney
Qualified: 1st Europe Group 6
Odds: 11/2

England once again look to emulate their single World Cup success when they won the trophy on home soil in 1966. Confidence is high after an impressive qualifying campaign under Italian coach, Fabio Capello, which saw them top a tricky qualifying group featuring Croatia, Ukraine and Belarus. Blessed with a talented group of players including John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, the team’s progress is likely to depend on the form and fitness of talismanic forward Wayne Rooney. The Manchester United striker has flourished at Old Trafford since Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure for Real Madrid and he proved in Euro 2004 that he has both the big tournament temperament and, more importantly, the goals to succeed at this level. One thing England will be desperate to avoid is a penalty shoot-out, having lost out in the spot-kick lottery in no fewer than four major tournament finals.

Wayne Rooney

Age: 24
Position: Centre Forward
Club: Manchester United (England – Premier League)
Caps: 55 (25 goals)
Top Goalscorer Odds: 12/1

Since bursting into the public eye at age 16 when his stunning goal for Everton ended Arsenal’s 30-match unbeaten run in 2002, Wayne Rooney has been one of the most talked-about players in world football. Despite his Everton loyalties, the lure of Old Trafford prove too much and Rooney signed for Manchester United in August 2004 for £25 million, scoring a hat-trick on his debut in the 6-2 defeat of Fenebahce during a Champions League group game the following month. Rooney made his England debut in February 2003 against Australia at the age of 17, then the youngest player to wear the Three Lions in a senior game. His stock rose considerably after brilliant performances at the Euro 2004 finals in Portugal, including two goals against Switzerland. However, his experience at the World Cup of 2006 was less memorable after arriving in Germany recovering from a foot injury and ending the tournament sent off for a challenge on his club team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo. Rooney was in imperious form during England’s Qualifying campaign for South Africa 2010, scoring nine goals in their domination of European Group 6. He bagged two goals on three occasions: at home to Kazakhstan, away to Belarus and again in the 6-0 demolition of Andorra at Wembley, taking his total for England to 25 from 55 starts.