Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has failed to keep hold of Didier Drogba from his African Nations Cup commitments.

Ancelotti revealed he had failed to delay Drogba's departure to join up with Ivory Coast for the competition which starts on January 10.

He said: "I made a mistake. Officially, the players have to go 14 days before the start of the Africa Cup of Nations. I spoke with the (Ivory Coast) manager two weeks ago. He would like to have the players, all of them who are involved in the Premier League, on December 27. We cannot go against FIFA rules."

Any lingering hopes were ended by the Ivory Coast manager Vahid Halilhodzic saying: "I've had conversations with Carlo Ancelotti who wanted his players kept back in England, as did Arsenal, Manchester City and others like Hibernian.

"But my answer to all of them was straightforward and clear - no. There are no exceptions to the rule because how can I organise my schedule when I have players flying in from different countries on different days? December 27 is the day they must report, December 28 is the day they do their tests and every single one of my players will be there for it, without exception."