RUUD Gullit has ruled himself out of a Coca-Cola Cup comeback at Burnden Park on Tuesday.

The Chelsea player-manager, who had a knee operation in the summer, has not played this season but had his sights set on being fit to face Wanderers in the Third Round clash.

But a 90-minute runout on Thursday persuaded him he was being far too ambitious.

"I'm just not yeady to play yet," Gullit said after completing the 2-1 reserve team win against Crystal Palace.

"In the first half I felt pretty sharp but as the game went on it convinced me I need more matches under my belt before I can play in the first team"

Gullit's exclusion from the cup tie will be a big disappointment to those fans who enjoyed seeing him display his range of talents when Chelsea visited Burnden in the Premiership in April, which turned out to be one of Wanderers' eight wins in the top flight.

But his absence will be more than compensated for by the likes of Gianluca Vialli, Roberto Di Matteo, Frank Lebouef and Mark Hughes as Wanderers test their progress against the West End boys.

Gullit's fitness setback was tempered by the good news that Frank Sinclair, Terry Phelan, Gavin Peacock and Mark Stein came through the reserve test to increase his squad options.

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