Mikel faces £100,000 fine for drink-driving charge

The midfielder was arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning in west London and the club are thinking of punishing him by deducting two weeks' wages.

But the Nigeria international will be in the squad to face Middlesbrough tomorrow night after being suspended for the FA Cup tie against Ipswich at the weekend.

Assistant first-team coach Ray Wilkins said: "John Obi recognises the fact he acted irresponsibly. We will deal with that in-house and that is all I'm saying on the matter but he will be in the squad tomorrow."

Defender Ricardo Carvalho, will miss the match and Sunday's title clash with Liverpool at Anfield after suffering a reccurrence of the hamstring strain, which ruled him out for two months earlier in the season.

Captain John Terry is in the squad again after sitting out the last two games with a back problem but it means their partnership in central defence has been split up once more.

The duo have barely played together since October and it's no coincidence that the team have conceded nine goals in their last six games.

In contrast, the defensive form of Manchester United has been excellent, with Edwin van der Sar set to break Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech's record of not conceding a League goal for 1,025 minutes if he keeps out West Brom tonight.

Wilkins played down the significance of Terry and Carvalho's injury problems and added: "Ricardo is going to be out for seven to 10 days, which is very unfortunate for us because he has worked very hard to get back to a level of fitness.

"When you have a partnership like John and Ricardo, it's very pleasant to have them playing every game but we are fortunate to have other guys who can come in to play in Alex and Branislav Ivanovic.

"We've had a lack of concentration on a few occasions and that has cost us goals but it's when John and Ricky have played as well.

"We have enough quality and experience to cover these positions.

"I'm not surprised Van der Sar is on the verge of breaking Petr's record because he plays for a good team. If they do it, it's a great achievement.

"It's a shame for us that they are keeping so many clean sheets but we're scoring more goals than most, so there is the contrast."

Wilkins also claimed Chelsea had received no offers for Ivanovic (left) and Florent Malouda from Fiorentina and Juventus respectively and insisted no players will be leaving this month.

But he said the same thing on Saturday and the club have since allowed keeper Carlo Cudicini to join Tottenham.

Ivanovic has started just six League games since arriving in a £9million deal from Lokomotiv Moscow 12 months ago and has been linked with a number of clubs.

The defender's agent, Vlado Borozan, has claimed Fiorentina are his favoured destination and has already opened talks with the club's sporting director, Pantaleo Corvino.

Borozan said: "We are trying to find an agreement to bring the player to Florence. He wants Fiorentina and the Tuscan club have shown with facts that he wants the same thing. We will meet again."

French interational Malouda has failed to impress since his £13.5m move from Lyon last year and the midfielder struggled to adapt to the pace of English football.