[England#1]

John Terry's chances of playing against Valencia have been boosted after Chelsea had a protective mask made for the captain.


The defender suffered a depressed fracture of the cheekbone in Saturday's 0-0 draw with Fulham after being caught by Clint Dempsey.

He has undergone surgery on the injury and will travel with the Chelsea squad to Spain for Wednesday's UEFA Champions League tie.

Though no decision on Terry's participation against Valencia has been made, club doctor Bryan English outlined the current situation.

English told Chelsea TV: "In sport, if you get a fractured cheekbone behind a certain point you can play on.


Very small risk


"The chance of getting another blow on the same point is minimal, so it is a very small risk.
"The reason John came off at half-time, after discussion, is that if there was another blow (in the Fulham match) it might make surgery more complex and with Valencia coming up, the decision was taken to take him off.
"He couldn't train on Monday because we had to get a protective mask moulded.
"The reason for getting it done as soon as possible is so he can be back playing, I don't know when that is going to be, but the mask needs to fit properly or another blow will just knock that piece of bone back.
"The mask will be taken on the plane with us whether he is going to play or not."

source: skysports.com