Terry could miss out, but Hiddink happy with Cahill-Ivanovic pairing
JOHN TERRY is set to miss Chelsea’s crucial last-16 Champions League game against Paris Saint- Germain tomorrow.
Manager Guus Hiddink, pictured right, had hoped the centre back would recover from the hamstring injury which has kept him out for five matches, but Terry is losing the race to help Chelsea try to overcome a 21 deficit from the first leg.
Hiddink has been impressed by the partnership of Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic at the centre of Chelsea’s defence in Terry’s absence, but he wanted his skipper back for the second leg at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea supporters had another injury scare on Saturday when Diego Costa was left out of the squad held to a draw by Stoke. Bertrand Traore, 20, stepped into Costa’s boots and produced a wonder strike in the first half, only for Mame Biram Diouf to head in an equaliser with five minutes remaining.
Hiddink allayed any concerns by insisting that Costa had a minor tendon injury and was only rested as a precaution. He conceded, however, that the draw made it virtually impossible for Chelsea to finish fourth in the table. A win would have taken them seventh, ahead of Stoke on goal difference.
Stoke manager Mark Hughes questioned whether his counterpart made the right decision to rest key players in such a crucial game in their late run towards Champions League qualification.
“Maybe we were encouraged by the selection they went with,” Hughes said. “Whether or not the players that didn’t play were injured or they were protecting them, which is their prerogative because they’ve got big games coming up, but I’d think this one was a key game for them because it’s the Premier League.
“In my view Chelsea’s best chance of getting in the Champions League is through their league position and maybe not by having the opportunity to win the Champions League. Maybe I’m wrong on that one.”
Super stat: Guus Hiddink has become the first manager to remain unbeaten for his first 12 games after joining a Premier League club.