“For Eden, his body has just let him down in his two years there. He is a great player and one of the best players in the world when he is fit and he has come off again with a muscle injury.
“It is disappointing because I was so excited to see him pull on that Real Madrid shirt and just join the list of the great players they have had over the years and it just hasn’t worked for him.
“I think come January, it might not be done for him, but I think he will need a run of games to show his quality finally. I think Real Madrid are notoriously impatient with their fans and owners so I feel sorry for him. He has just not been able to show it.”
Real Madrid could qualify from Group B in the Champions League with a win away at Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday. However, the Ukrainian side defeated Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in matchday one and defeat could risk seeing them fall into the Europa League.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have already qualified for the last-16 but face an away trip to fellow La Liga side Sevilla to decide which team will top Group E.
Cole played alongside the Chelsea manager Frank Lampard while at Stamford Bridge and he is feeling confident that his side can achieve something special this season.
“I think they got the recruitment spot on in the summer,” he added. “They needed time to settle in at the start of the season. I wouldn’t say he has done anything different, the work on the training ground continues and the structure is in place and they are just adding little bits of quality in the final third.
“The goalkeeper has made a huge difference. I think Frank was always going to be successful. I think it is just time now, letting the team simmer, get better and better. They are one of the youngest squads in the league, apart from Thiago Silva, so there’s so much more to come from this Chelsea squad.”