Chelsea striker Didier Drogba recovering from malaria

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba recovering from malaria

Chelsea FC announced Tuesday that star striker Didier Drogba is recovering from a lightning bout of malaria he apparently contracted on holiday.

The bout of the mosquito-borne blood disease couldn’t have been too serious. The 32-year-old Ivorian played 76 minutes against Spartak Moscow last Wednesday. He was on the bench for the first half of Sunday’s game against Liverpool with what the club described as “a virus.” But he was scrambled into action for the second half, where he did appear sluggish.

His condition was diagnosed Monday after a blood test. According to his manager, he’s already fully recovered.

“Didier has had problems,” Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti said Tuesday. “He had a virus and lost power in training. We now know what he had was malaria. He was given some time off and came back with malaria.

“Now he’s OK and will be back, immediately, in his best condition. He suffered because he was not 100 per cent but after the treatment he will be better.”

Drogba’s celebrity in his native Ivory Coast and throughout Africa is immense. As such, he’s intimately involved in a Right To Play initiative to combat the disease, called United Against Malaria.

“My foundation is involved because the objective of the foundation is health. We buy a lot of nets to give to people every year to help prevent malaria,” Drogba said earlier of the initiative, according to the Guardian.

It’s been an eventful year for Drogba on the health front.

He broke his arm shortly before World Cup 2010 got under way in South Africa, but played in a cast.