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Joe Cole has revealed he has put making England's World Cup squad to the back of his mind and is just concentrating on rediscovering his best form with Chelsea.
Cole made his first appearance for eight months in the club's 1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers in the Carling Cup third round last night having finally recovered from a serious knee ligament injury.
The 27-year-old has had to watch England qualify for the World Cup in South Africa without him and he now faces a fight to convince coach Fabio Capello he deserves a place in his 23-man squad next year.
Cole is delighted by England's progress under the Italian but is determined not to risk another injury by trying too much too quickly to impress him.
The midfielder said: “Our country is on a high with the way the lads are playing — it's great. I'd like to get back but that's all in good time.
“For me it's just a case of taking it day by day and keep working hard. When England comes along I'll take that challenge.
“I don't want to get into talking about England. It would be stupid to say I'm back and I want to be here, there and everywhere. I just want to get stronger every day and take what I can out of training. I can't rush it.
“Chelsea are playing well and England are playing well — it's fantastic. All I can do is get to
the best quality I can and I'm confident when I get there, I'll get an awful lot of games this year.”
Cole was made captain for the first time by coach Carlo Ancelotti and repaid him by setting up the winning goal for Salomon Kalou in the 52nd minute.
Significantly, the England international was picked to play at the top of the diamond in midfield and clearly revelled in the position. In his Chelsea career he has normally had to play on the right or left wing but Cole admits Ancelotti's formation could help him play better than ever.
He added: “I was in the middle and it suits me down to the ground. It helped me a lot playing in that system because you can play the game at your own pace.
“Things come naturally to me there rather than playing as a winger and being expected to run past people.
“To captain Chelsea is just unbelievable. I was a ballboy here and am a fan. I know it was the Carling Cup but this was one of the biggest games of my career.”
