Chelsea defender Paulo Ferreira has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a cruciate knee ligament injury, manager Guus Hiddink said on Friday.
The Portugal fullback has missed large parts of the season with various injuries and suffered his latest setback on Thursday, Hiddink told the club's website www.chelseafc.com
He is the third Chelsea player to have suffered the same, serious injury this season following midfielders Michael Essien and Joe Cole.
Essien, who played for the reserves Monday week, has been included in the squad for Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final at Coventry City and could make his first appearance since August.
Also in the squad are Ricardo Carvalho, out since January with a hamstring problem, and Ashley Cole, who was arrested and fined Wednesday night for drunk and disorderly behaviour outside a nightclub.
Chelsea are second in the Premier League, seven points behind Manchester United who have a game in hand.