Carlo Ancelotti joked yesterday that Florent Malouda will be made to play at left back as the punishment for making a disparaging remark about his manager’s portly physique, but Chelsea’s goalkeeping situation is no laughing matter. Petr Cech and Hilário have failed to recover from calf and groin injuries respectively, so Ross Turnbull will have the daunting task of acting as the last line of defence against Inter Milan on only his third start for the West London club.

Turnbull dealt well with the one save he had to make in the 3-1 victory over West Ham United in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday, but had little to do, which is unlikely to be the case when faced with the attacking talent of Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito and Wesley Sneijder this evening. It is not the 25-year-old’s first Champions League appearance, although he did not distinguish himself in the 2-2 draw against Apoel Nicosia in December and is facing the biggest challenge of his career.

“I’m not a doctor, but until now Cech hasn’t trained, so it’s impossible that he might play tomorrow,” Ancelotti said. “There’s no chance of me taking a risk on Cech. Turnbull is a confident lad and we have confidence in him.

“Turnbull is a good goalkeeper who has played very well this season and improved every day. So, for me, it’s not a problem. Cech has more experience for sure, but Ross is young and has enthusiasm to play. He wants to play and, for him, this will be a great, great experience.”

José Mourinho, the Inter coach, revealed at the weekend that he intended to exploit Turnbull’s inexperience, but was in a more diplomatic mood yesterday. Mourinho pointed out that he gave a similarly inexperienced Hilário his Chelsea debut in a Champions League tie against Barcelona in October 2006, which they won 1-0.

“The story of playing with the third-choice goalkeeper is a non-story because the one thing I have good is my memory,” Mourinho said. “When I was Chelsea’s manager we played in the Champions League against Barcelona with our third-choice in goal. Cech and [Carlo] Cudicini were injured, and Hilário made his debut against Barcelona. We beat them at Stamford Bridge and drew in Camp Nou. This happens all over the world. So I don’t think it’s a big problem, especially if we don’t have a shot.”

Mourinho has problems of his own, with Mario Balotelli having been left in Milan after an alleged altercation with the coach in training yesterday, leaving Eto’o or Goran Pandev to partner Milito in attack.

“I don’t want to talk about him as he won’t be here,” Mourinho said. “I can explain why I called up the other 20 players. It’s more important to talk about the players who will be there tomorrow, not those that aren’t.”