Guus Hiddink has said Chelsea are more than prepared to deal with the absence of injured captain John Terry in their Champions League match away to Paris Saint-Germain tonight.
Terry suffered a hamstring injury during Saturday’s 5-1 victory over Newcastle United and has not travelled with the rest of the Chelsea squad after failing a fitness test at the club’s Cobham training ground yesterday.
Left-back Baba Rahman replaced Terry against the Magpies, with Cesar Azpilicueta switching to right-back and Branislav Ivanovic moving across to partner Gary Cahill in central defence for the remainder of the match at Stamford Bridge.
Ahead of their first-leg encounter at Parc des Princes, Hiddink refused to confirm who would replace Terry, but insisted he had full confidence in his squad.
“We had the problem in the previous game against Newcastle and we have practised, not because one player got an injury, but we do a lot of practising where we put other people in central defence,” explained Hiddink.
“So it was not a surprise for the players that we had to make some changes. Of course, not having John is a bit of a set-back, as a leader.
“But I am not the type of coach or manager who starts moaning, moaning and moaning. We have to go on, and the players who will replace him, I have full confidence in them.”
PSG defeated Chelsea on away goals at the same stage last season, with Terry featuring in both legs.
Hiddink added: “It was not a decision made by me because he was having too much trouble to travel, even to try tomorrow [Tuesday].
“We made a test this morning and it didn’t work out well. The decision was made to leave him at home. He was convinced he could not be of worth for the team at the moment.
“He has a little problem with his hamstring and on a little tendon in his hamstring area. That’s why we made an ultimate test this morning and we decided not to participate.”
When asked whether Terry would be available for Chelsea’s FA Cup fifth-round match against Manchester City on Sunday, Hiddink said: “Difficult, difficult. That’s why we prefer to have him at Cobham in the training centre for daily treatment and see how is development will be for the weekend.”
