Roman Abramovich returned to London for the first time in more than a month last night to hold talks with José Mourinho. The Chelsea owner has barely spoken to his manager since a row at the start of January, but is planning to attend tomorrow’s FA Cup fifth-round tie against Norwich City at Stamford Bridge.

Mourinho has not seen Abramovich since the Russian abandoned his usual practice of visiting Chelsea’s dressing-room at the height of their stand-off after a 4-0 win over Wigan Athletic on January 13, the last game he attended. Abramovich has since missed six successive matches, an unprecedented level of absenteeism that has only served to further the impression of an irreparable rift with Mourinho.

Although Abramovich has had sound reasons for staying away because of commitments elsewhere — from his sponsorship of the Channel One Cup in Israel to discussions with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, last week that resulted in him agreeing to stay on as governor of the Chukotka province in eastern Russia — he is aware of the football public’s perception, one that he is determined to change.

With Chelsea fans giving their vocal backing to Mourinho at Stamford Bridge and suspicions that his interest is waning, Abramovich is keen to demonstrate that his commitment to the club is as strong as ever by attending the majority of games until the end of the season. The 40-year-old is planning to travel to Portugal for the first leg of Chelsea’s Champions League first knockout round tie against FC Porto on Wednesday and will be in Cardiff for the Carling Cup final against Arsenal four days later.

Whether his relationship with Mourinho can be repaired simply by increasing his public presence, however, is a moot point. The Portuguese was already frustrated at his lack of control over transfer policy and the large number of advisers bending Abramovich’s ear when the pair’s mutual distrust came to a head during an argument over Andriy Shevchenko in the first week of January.

After demanding a new striker for the Barclays Premiership run-in, Mourinho was told that he should get the best out of Shevchenko. An exchange of views resulted in Abramovich leaving the room. Although Peter Kenyon, the chief executive, succeeded in building bridges — to the extent that a failed bid was made later in the month for Tal Ben Haim, the Bolton Wanderers defender — Chelsea’s two most important figures have had little contact since.

Abramovich’s aides claim that his absence in the intervening weeks is coincidental, but others who know him well paint a different picture. For all his wealth and power, Abramovich is said to loathe confrontation, which could hardly be more different from the fiery Mourinho.

Having been stared down by his employer, Mourinho has become more diplomatic in recent weeks, insisting that Abramovich is always welcome in the dressing-room — superficially warm words that will be tested for the first time tomorrow.

With Abramovich joining Mourinho in putting on a united front, Chelsea were given a further boost yesterday with the news that Ashley Cole could be back from injury in the near future. The England defender was expected to be out until the start of April with knee ligament damage, but is confident of returning before then.

“Hopefully in two to three weeks I’ll be playing,” Cole said. “I’d like to be back training before the Carling Cup final but sometimes when you set yourself targets and don’t meet them you can get down. If I can train within another two weeks, I will be happy.

“I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. When I first did it I thought it would definitely be eight months out, but I didn’t actually rip the cruciate. I am getting stronger and working hard.”