Chelsea striker Didier Drogba did not join his team-mates yesterday as the London team left for a pre-season tour in Asia.

Chelsea said in a statement that the reason for Drogba's absence was to have enough time to recover from a knee injury sustained at the end of last season. However, the Ivory Coast captain has been linked with a transfer away from Stamford Bridge this summer. The 30-year-old scored eight times for Chelsea in the Premier League in 2007/08.

His omission from Luiz Felipe Scolari's squad is likely to raise a few questions about his future. A decision is likely to be taken before the end of this month.

In Asia, Chelsea will play games in China and Malaysia before returning to the continent for a tournament in Moscow.

New Chelsea signing Deco yesterday pleaded with Drogba not to change club.

Deco said: "I don't know if he'll stay. I did speak to him and I told him I'd love him to stay and I'd love to play with him, he is a fantastic player."

Deco, who joined Chelsea from Barcelona in a deal reported to be worth about £8 million, would not be surprised if Drogba was tempted away from Stamford Bridge.

"Obviously, at this time many, many clubs are looking to buy a forward and Drogba is one of the best in the world," Deco told reporters before leaving for Asia.

"All the big clubs will want a player like him."

Meanwhile, another player rumoured to be on his way out of Chelsea, Frank Lampard, was included in Scolari's contingent for the Asia trip.

Lampard has shown keen interest in joining his former manager Jose Mourinho at Inter.

Chelsea also said yesterday that Michael Ballack will link up with them in China after finishing a post-Euro 2008 holiday.

Scolari will take charge of his first match as Chelsea manager on Wednesday against Guangzhou Pharmaceuticals.

"The players are not ready yet totally, but we are starting to build a new team and a new philosophy," the Brazilian wrote on the Chelsea FC website.