Terry on target to face Arsenal
John Terry was ready today to pull out all the stops to ensure he kept fit enough to start Chelsea's crunch Premier League clash at Arsenal on Saturday if cleared to do so.
Terry has been unable to train normally this week while at Wembley fighting a Football Association charge of using racist language towards Anton Ferdinand.
That did not prevent Blues boss Roberto Di Matteo picking his captain for last night's Capital One Cup 6-0 thrashing of Wolves.
Provided Terry does not begin a suspension during Saturday's trip to the Emirates Stadium - something that is possible if he is found guilty in his hearing and elects not to appeal - he could go into the game with little time under his belt training alongside his team-mates.
But Chelsea assistant manager Eddie Newton said: "The fact is he's got a lot of minutes under his belt already.
"There are ways and means around it when it comes to training, after what he does at the FA.
"We'll work out scenarios and we'll be in constant contact with John, the fitness coaches and medical staff will get around him and make sure he's prepared in the best way possible, as we always do."
Newton admitted the final decision to play Terry last night had only been taken yesterday afternoon but that it always had been Di Matteo's intention to do so.
He said: "We wanted John to start. Obviously, with everything happening with the FA, we had to see how it panned out.
"We had a phone call he was making his way back from the FA nice and early so it wasn't last-minute-dot-com.
"We'd covered all the bases, all the scenarios, and the best one happened."
Asked if Terry played last night to prove a point, Newton said: "Knowing John, he's a positive person who loves the club.
"He's very enthusiastic about playing, just as he was as a young man.
"He just wants to play."
Newton was prevented from reacting to Terry's decision to quit England over the FA's handling of his case but admitted it could ultimately benefit Chelsea.
Gary Cahill, Ryan Bertrand, Juan Mata, Oriol Romeu, Fernando Torres and Victor Moses scored the goals in Chelsea's win last night, which also saw impressive performances from a number of debutants, including Cesar Azpilicueta and Lucas Piazon.
How many of them played their way into the frame for Arsenal could depend on the fitness of Daniel Sturridge (hamstring) and Frank Lampard (ankle), both of whom sat out last night's game.
Newton rated the former as "50-50" but was less certain of the latter.
Terry's selection last night took many by surprise but not Wolves boss Stale Solbakken, who said: "Not really. He's a fighter, isn't he?"
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