Difficult to leave Chelsea for African Nations in January: Drogba

London, Dec 13(ANI): Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has said that he feels torn about leaving the club for the African Cup of Nations tournament in January.

Drogba is in the form of his life with 16 goals in all competitions for Chelsea, but is duty-bound to represent Ivory Coast in the tournament.

"It will be difficult for me to leave Chelsea for the African Nations because Chelsea pays my wages. Just for that reason it's going to be difficult to go for a month. But I think they understand that we have to go, we have to represent our countries. The other African players want to be here with Chelsea, but we need to go," News of The World quoted Drogba, as saying.

"It's a difficult decision to make, but the good thing is that the club respect that and show a lot of respect for the African players. I don't know if I will go to the two-week training camp beforehand. I will speak to the national team manager and Carlo Ancelotti to find the best deal for everyone involved," he added.

The 31-year-old further said that he is enjoying his stay at Chelsea, and would be looking forward to join back as early as he can.

"I have a lot of football to play this season, but I will never complain because a few years ago I was in the second division with France so this kind of season is very exciting for me," Drogba said.

"I expect Chelsea to still be competing for the Champions League, Premiership and FA Cup when I come back from the African Nations.

Both Premier League and Champions League are very important to us. I will be giving the team some harsh phone calls if we lose points while I'm gone," he added. (ANI)