SOCCER: English Premier LeagueJohn Terry faces an anxious wait to discover the extent of a knee ligament injury which forced him to depart Chelsea's draw against Liverpool on crutches with the joint in a brace.
The former England centre-half had marked his return to the Chelsea side, following a four-game domestic suspension after he was found guilty of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers’ Anton Ferdinand, with his side’s first-half goal yesterday.
While that prompted an outpouring of joy, his mood was wrecked within 15 minutes when Ramires nudged Luis Suarez in the back and the Uruguayan fell on to Terry’s outstretched right leg.
The defender’s knee took the striker’s weight and buckled as he fell to the ground. Terry was left thumping the turf in agony before medical staff were called on to the pitch.
The 31-year-old departed on a stretcher with his head in his hands and was still undergoing treatment in the medics’ room within Stamford Bridge as the game edged beyond the hour. He will be scanned at a hospital this morning, if the swelling on the knee has subsided sufficiently, and an assessment of the damage to the ligaments will follow.
“He’ll have the MRI scan and then we’ll understand the full extent,” said Roberto Di Matteo, the Chelsea manager. “There’s concern, certainly. We just got him back into the team after the ban and it had been great seeing him out there.
“We hope it’s not a serious injury but we’ll see. When a player reacts like that, it’s a concern and he’s still in pain now. He’d started the game very well, showing all the qualities he has as well as his experience. It’s a real shame but we’ll find out tomorrow if it’s long-term.”
Suarez expressed his condolences to Terry, tweeting: “Hugs to Terry, I hope it’s nothing serious.”
Although damage to the medial ligaments could prompt anything up to a three-month absence, a rupture of a cruciate would require a longer lay-off leaving Chelsea, who have failed to keep a clean sheet in eight matches and are three points behind Manchester United in the title race, fretting over the prognosis.
Di Matteo agreed Chelsea had paid a price for missing
opportunities while ahead. “It was crucial to kill the game off,” he said. “We had the chances to do that but we missed opportunities, the goalkeeper made some great saves and we didn’t manage that second goal.”
Meanwhile, Roberto Mancini was delighted with a “huge win” over Tottenham Hotspur that ended a tough 10 days for Manchester City. “It was a difficult moment,” the manager said. “We had a lot of important players injured and today I saw the same spirit from the players that I saw last year.
“After they scored first I thought we played fantastic.”
Steven Caulker’s 21st-minute header gave Spurs the lead but goals from Aguero and substitute Edin Dzeko earned City the points.
“Today we deserved to win this game, the players were fantastic. The supporters were fantastic and in the second half they were like the 12th player on the pitch.”
The win, after draws against Ajax and West Ham this month, maintains City’s unbeaten league record.
Guardian Service
