That savage Frenchman was Olivier Dacourt, who needlessly kicked out at the Dutch prodigy in a pre season friendly. At the time, it was thought to be a minor injury. But almost three months on, Arjen has still to step out for his new club in a competitive match.

He told Chelsea TV: "The bone has healed perfectly as it's almost 10 weeks ago since I broke it. But it's just the ligaments surrounding it, and the ankle is a bit softish around it."

"I hope I will be back soon and also stay at that level and not to get a kick or something as that throws me back for another few weeks.

"I hope to be back very soon because I want to play very much."

And we would very much like to see you play Mr Robben!