Chelsea's Ashley Cole, left, competes for the ball with Bayer Leverkusen's Andre Schurrle during the Champions League Group E soccer match between Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011. (Photo: AP)
Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole was omitted from the squad that travelled to Germany for Tuesday's Champions League group game with Schalke, the Premier League club announced on Monday.
Cole trained with his team-mates on Monday morning, having missed England's last two World Cup qualifiers and Chelsea's 4-1 win over Cardiff City on Saturday with a rib injury.
However, he did not board the plane for the flight to Dusseldorf due to manager Jose Mourinho's unwillingness to take risks with the 32-year-old's fitness.
"Jose Mourinho believes tomorrow's (Tuesday's) game has come just too soon for the left-back and he has remained in the UK," said a story on the Chelsea website.
German forward Andre Schurrle, who had been struggling with a leg injury, was a member of the 21-man squad.
Schalke lead Group E on six points after two matches, with Chelsea three points back in third place.
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