Chelsea have rubbished suggestions that billionaire owner Roman Abramovich collapsed in an attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
It was claimed that Abramovich experienced breathing problems during a failed attempt to ascend the mountain in Tanzania last week.
But Chelsea have insisted that Abramovich did not require medical attention and denied that their former interim coach Guus Hiddink was in the expedition, which the Blues also maintained was properly prepared and organised.
A spokesman for Chelsea said: "Roman Abramovich did not collapse, develop respiratory problems, altitude sickness or require medical attention during his recent trip to Mount Kilimanjaro.
"The expedition was properly prepared and those in the group who wanted to reach the summit did so without incident.
"Furthermore, despite claims to the contrary, Guus Hiddink was not a member of the expedition, as he was in Britain leading the Russian national football team to victory over Wales."
Chelsea responded after reports claimed that Abramovich ran into problems when the 42-year-old and a party of six friends set out to scale Africa's highest mountain.
It was alleged that they failed to train properly to cope with the altitude and the expedition had to be cancelled at 15,100ft after Abramovich succumbed to what appeared to have been symptoms of altitude sickness and needed medical attention.
It was also suggested that Abramovich's group reportedly failed to undergo the usual seven-day acclimatisation procedure to adapt to the climate and the low air pressure.
Hiddink was also supposedly involved in the attempt to scale the mountain, known as the 'Roof of Africa', but Chelsea have now firmly denied all the allegations.
