Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti claims he has inherited a “genius” after the England star made a return to the starting XI against Blackburn. The 27-year-old has spent the early part of the season battling back fro the serious knee injury which prematurely ended his last campaign in January. And after three appearances from the bench, Cole was finally unleashed against Sam Allardyce’s Rovers at Stamford Bridge in the 5-0 win which took the Blues back to the top of the table. Ancelotti has already seen enough from the former West Ham youngster to suggest he will be one of the first names down on the teamsheet, with Florent Malouda and Deco benched on Saturday. The Italian said: “I was very impressed with him. Joe is a very important player for us. He has fantastic quality in midfield. He is a genius. "He's a great professional. After 10 months out it's not easy Joe to play like he did. I'm happy for him." Ancelotti hailed the performance against Blackburn as the best of his short reign so far at the end of a week when he has returned to Italy to visit his sick father. The goals came from Gael Givet (og), Frank Lampard (2), Michael Essien and Didier Drogba.