Andre Villas-Boas plays down Gary Cahill rift

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has played down talk of a rift between himself and Gary Cahill.

The defender, who signed for the Blues last month, was left out of the side for last weekend's 2-0 defeat at Everton.

However, Villas-Boas has claimed that the England international was omitted due to illness and not for other reasons.

"He was ill - Gary was ill all of last week," he told the Fulham & Hammersmith Chronicle. "That's why we didn't decide to put him onto Everton.

"He only trained once - that's why he didn't have that continuity that he expected for the game against Everton.

"Nothing else, because his performance was excellent against [Manchester] United."

Chelsea host Birmingham City in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Saturday.