Wembley a bonus for brave Cech

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Seven months ago the Chelsea goalkeeper was in hospital recovering from emergency surgery. He still has no recollection of the collision with Reading's Stephen Hunt at the Madejski Stadium which caused a depressed fracture of the skull and threatened brain damage.

Scroll down to read more:

Cech: Fit and ready

Chelsea were not totally satisfied with all the medical attention received by their goalkeeper, but thanks to the staff at the two hospitals in Berkshire and Oxfordshire - who received cheques for £1,000 from the club at their training ground this week - he will now play in the Final.

Cech admits he doubted it would happen. "If you told me on October 17 that I'd be playing in an FA Cup Final at the end of the season, then I probably wouldn't have believed it," he said.

Injured on October 14, he returned at Liverpool on January 20 and was soon back to his best, wearing the protective helmet he expects to wear for the rest of his career.

Cech's three-month absence was maybe the biggest single reason why Chelsea lost their Premiership title to today's opponents Manchester United.

But Cech, 25 on Sunday, insists Chelsea have had a good season and said: "We've already got one trophy and we can have another one. If we win the FA Cupwe can consider it a great season."

Unlike many foreigners who arrive in England, Cech has not had a long love affair with the FA Cup, as the finals of old were not shown live in the Czech Republic.

The first final he watched live was Arsenal's dull 1-0 win against Southampton in 2003, only 12 months before he joined Chelsea from French side Rennes.