On February 22 Beijing time, major British media reported the news that Chelsea captain John Terry would continue to be out of action due to injury. As a result, he will not be able to participate in Chelsea's first leg of the Champions League round-of-16 match against Napoli and next week’s friendly match between the England national team and the Netherlands. According to the latest report by The Mirror, the English center-back may even be out of action for up to two months, only returning to Stamford Bridge during the final stages of this season.
According to The Mirror, on Monday at St Paul's Stadium, Terry participated in his team's training session. After the training, he said he could persist in playing in the game against Napoli. However, after waking up on Tuesday morning, Terry felt knee pain. Subsequently, Chelsea's medical staff examined his condition and believed it was inappropriate for him to play, thus he will miss this crucial Champions League battle. After flying back to London following the match, he will undergo further examination. The Mirror revealed that Terry might be out of action for up to two months, only returning during the closing stages of this season.
If Terry is unfortunately out long-term, those affected will not just be Chelsea but also the England national team, which is currently in turmoil. This Thursday, interim England manager Stuart Pearce will announce the player list for the February 29 friendly match between England and the Netherlands. Whether Terry can return to the squad was originally a focus of media attention. But now the former captain is almost certainly absent, and Pearce is very likely to recall Rio Ferdinand, who has been performing well recently at Manchester United (Weibo Data), thereby avoiding the awkwardness of the two central defenders meeting. If Terry really misses two months of action and Rio takes advantage of the opportunity to secure his position as a key player for England, then the prospects for the Chelsea captain in the European Championship will undoubtedly be overshadowed.
Terry suffered a knee injury on January 7 this year when he collided with a goalpost during Chelsea's third-round FA Cup victory over Portsmouth. In early February, he became embroiled in a controversy where his role as captain of the England national team was revoked. Since then, Terry has not returned to action, and some media have speculated that he is feigning injury to avoid intense public scrutiny and direct confrontation with Ferdinand on the field. However, in the four games he missed due to injury, Chelsea achieved three draws and one loss without a single win, conceding goals in every match. Manager André Villas-Boas also found himself caught up in rumors about being sacked. To save his position, the Champions League match against Napoli cannot afford any slip-ups, so "The Special One II" specially brought his still-injured captain to the Italian away game.
Previously, Italian media published Boas' tactical formation left behind at the hotel. Terry was originally set to partner Gary Cahill as the central defensive duo, while Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres were both excluded from the starting lineup. However, due to fluctuations in the captain's condition, Boas had to change his tactics again. David Luiz is expected to partner Cahill to face off against Napoli's attacking trio of Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi, and Marek Hamsik. Additionally, Branislav Ivanovic might return to the center to replace the inconsistent Luiz, with José Bosingwa playing as the starting right-back.
Chelsea received shocking bad news before their tough battle, as the Blue Army's captain may be out for two months.