Chelsea and England defender Ashley Cole aggravated a depressed fracture of his shinbone in Sunday's 1-0 win over Manchester United but the injury is not thought to be serious.

"He originally sustained the injury against Atletico Madrid (on Oct. 21) and missed three games," a club spokesman said on Monday.

"He played against United with an injection but aggravated it again and that's why he was pulled out of the England squad (for Saturday's friendly with Brazil)."

No time scale was put on Cole's recovery but the spokesman indicated the left back would not be out of action for long. Chelsea have a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League.

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