Soccer:John Terry could miss Chelsea's entire festive fixture programme after Rafael Benitez admitted today his recovery from knee surgery was proving more problematic than first thought.

Interim manager Benitez was hopeful Terry would be fit to return for one of the Blues’ four matches over Christmas and the New Year. But he stressed that he could not “guarantee” that, adding of his captain’s recovery: “It is one step forward, one step back.”

Benitez confirmed Terry, who had been scheduled to return almost two weeks ago, would definitely miss Sunday’s Barclays Premier League game against Aston Villa.

Terry trained without the ball today but was still not ready to return to full-contact exercises, with Benitez revealing the defender was prone to an adverse reaction 24 hours after training. “The knee is quite complicated,” he said.

“At least he’s now on the pitch — that is positive news — but we cannot say, we cannot predict how long it will take.” Asked if Terry would make his comeback in the next fortnight, Benitez said: “I

hope so but I am not a doctor. So I cannot guarantee anything.”

Benitez was confident Terry would not require further surgery and would not be drawn on reports the 32-year-old was close to opening talks on a new contract to replace the one that expires in 18 months.

Pressed on Terry’s importance to Chelsea — there is a huge difference in their win-loss record with and without their skipper — Benitez said: “If he’s the captain, it’s because he’s a player that can be a leader. I have seen he has a great character.”

At least Chelsea have cover for Terry in defence. The same cannot be said for their attack if they choose to sell Daniel Sturridge to Liverpool when the transfer window reopens. A fee has reportedly been agreed for the England striker, with talks said to have reached an impasse over agents’ fees.

Benitez would only discuss Sturridge’s fitness today, confirming the 23-year-old was ready to return from the hamstring problem that has kept him out for more than a month. “The situation with Sturridge is the same,” Benitez said. “Now he’s training, he’s had another training session. He’s a player that is available. I have to decide if he will be in the squad or in the team.”