Russia coach Guus Hiddink has assured Chelsea fans that Yuri Zhirkov will prove his class once he is fit.
Hiddink was at Cobham yesterday to see old friends and told Chelsea TV: "Although he had a difficult pre-season because of his injury, I have heard the comments already from the players and staff that he is very skilful and very fast.
"It is a pity he has had this pre-season but when he adapts himself, and he will adapt, and learns the new language as soon as possible which I challenge him to do, then he will be of great use to Chelsea because he is a skilful player.
"He has to adapt to another culture but all the players are always keen on new players to help them out."
