Frank Lampard backs Joe Cole to sparkle for England as well as Chelsea

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard feels that team-mate Joe Cole could still have a vital role to play for England at this summer's World Cup.

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He has also hailed his colleague's work ethic in coming back from long-term injury to have claimed back his place in Carlo Ancelotti's squad.

"I hope Joe gets called up by England - he deserves it for the hard work he's put in," Lampard said, according to Sporting Life.

"The England manager knows how good a player he is, like everyone at Chelsea does. If Joe keeps playing the way he is for Chelsea, he will have a great chance.

"He's getting sharper and sharper. Joe's that one player who injects that bit of brilliance where he can beat a man out of nowhere.

"He had a very bad injury and people expected him to come straight back in but it's not possible. He has worked harder than anyone and now we're seeing the benefits of it. He's only going to get better."

Lampard has also been impressed by the way in which Ancelotti's men have coped in the absence of striker Didier Drogba and other key men at the African Cup of Nations.

He also thinks that now could be a crucial time to really hit top form and heap pressure on their title rivals.

"If we open up that gap again it'll be great," he added.

"Those little mental things are great during the season. It's great to be back on top. We knew we had games in hand but we didn't like to see ourselves down in third place. Arsenal were on a good run but it's a marathon not a sprint.

"We didn't say we'd struggle this month, everyone else did. We have a lot of belief. I just think the loss of Didier was talked about too much.

"Didier is a big loss but the way Nicolas Anelka plays, he's one of the best out there as well.

"We've got the players who can come in. Maybe some needed to step up and everyone has done.

"We have gone up another gear this month. We had a bad run in December, dropped some points and we've worked hard to get that back."