(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-12-28 09:49

LONDON - Chelsea and England midfielder Frank Lampard will miss the next few weeks of the season after tearing a muscle in his right thigh, the club said on Thursday.

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, seen here 23 December 2007, will be out of action for several weeks after scans revealed he has suffered a torn thigh muscle. [Agencies]

Lampard went off injured after 26 minutes of Wednesday's 4-4 Premier League draw with Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge and joins a long Chelsea injury list which includes captain John Terry, striker Didier Drogba and midfielder Florent Malouda.

In a statement on their Web site (www.chelseafc.com), Chelsea said: "Scans...revealed a tear in Frank Lampard's right thigh. He will begin rehabilitation immediately and we hope to have him back playing within a few weeks."

The tear is not in the same thigh he injured earlier in the season, the club said.

RED CARDS

Earlier in the day, Chelsea and Villa both appealed to the FA against red cards shown to Ashley Cole and Zat Knight in Wednesday's eventful match.

Referee Phil Dowd also sent off Chelsea's Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho for a two-footed lunge on Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor but the club are not appealing against that decision.

The appeals will be heard by the FA on Friday before Saturday's matches when Chelsea are at home to Newcastle United and Villa travel to Wigan Athletic.

Chelsea defender Cole was sent off for a deliberate handball on the goal line deep in stoppage time at the end of the match which resulted in a penalty for Villa that Gareth Barry converted to leave the teams level at the finish.

Knight received a straight red for a foul on Michael Ballack, who came on for Lampard, giving Chelsea a penalty which Andriy Shevchenko converted just before halftime.

Villa boss Martin O'Neill accused the Germany skipper of going down too easily under the challenge.

"It wasn't a penalty. The Chelsea player went over and there had been no contact," he told reporters after the game.

Ballack has denied the accusations, telling the London Evening Standard: "For me there is no discussion about this.

"I had the ball and two guys, not just one, came and one pushed me. It was a clear penalty."