Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic will be out for a month after injuring his knee in Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Blackburn Rovers, meaning another game in the Chelsea Hospitality seats.

The 26-year-old has torn his medial knee ligament and was replaced by Yuri Zhirkov during the game at Ewood Park.

The injury to the Serb will be a blow to Carlo Ancelotti’s Premier League title contenders, who are four points behind leaders Manchester United.

Ivanovic will now miss the crucial game against United on 3 April.

Chelsea have one game in hand on the Premier League champions, which comes against Portsmouth on Wednesday evening.