Terry in Blues squad for Stoke clash
Captain John Terry is in Chelsea’s squad for tomorrow’s Barclays Premier game against Stoke but will not start the game, interim manager Rafael Benitez has confirmed.
Terry came through 45 minutes of the Blues’ Under-21 game against Fulham on Thursday, his first appearance since suffering knee ligament damage against Liverpool in November.
Benitez confirmed that the 32-year-old has returned to training and will be in the squad for tomorrow’s game at the Britannia Stadium, but will start on the bench
“He played yesterday. He was okay,” Benitez said. “He has been training today. He is in the squad.”
Asked whether Terry will start, the Spaniard added: “No, but he is available. It’s good news for us. He has been out for 16 weeks.”
Terry has been out since November due to knee ligament damage he suffered against Liverpool, but the defender came through 45 minutes of the Blues’ Under-21 game against Fulham yesterday and will be on the bench tomorrow.
Goalkeeper Petr Cech will have a test on his groin injury, while Nigeria duo John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses are unavailable as they are at the African Nations Cup.
Provisional squad: Turnbull, Cech, Azpilicueta, Ferreira, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Terry, Cole, Bertrand, Lampard, Ramires, Mata, Oscar, Hazard, Marin, Piazon, Torres, Ba, Hilario.
