The England left back, out of action since his knee ligament strain against Blackburn in January, played an hour of the match at Reading's Madejski Stadium.

His return will serve as a welcome boost to manager Jose Mourinho, who watched skipper John Terry leave the field on a stretcher during his side's 1-1 Champions League draw in Porto on Wednesday night.

While Terry is definitely out of Sunday's English League Cup final against Arsenal, Cole has an outside chance of playing at Cardiff's Millennium stadium.