Alex and John Terry give Chelsea injury boost
English Premier League champions Chelsea have received a double boost with the news that Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa and his central defensive partner John Terry may play key roles in upcoming fixtures.
Brazilian centre-half Alex had been due to undergo exploratory surgery on his knee that would have kept him out for six to eight weeks. The procedure was planned to get to the root of a problem that kept him out of EPL games against Fulham and Sunderland
as well as Brazil's international friendly agaisnt Argentina.
However, the 28-year-old has delayed the operation and is set to play through the pain barrier against Birmingham City on Saturday 20 November.
Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti told reporters that: "Alex will be available, which is good news. He trained well for the Brazilian team. We know he needs surgery, but we can procrastinate for this. There's no risk, but his knee needs to be clean. It will be
good to have him back. We didn't play well last week (in a 3-0 defeat to Sunderland), we played a poor game. (A 3-0 defeat) was the first time in my period here, so we need to move on immediately and have a reaction.”
Ancelotti also said that captain Terry could feature in the UEFA Champions League clash with MSK Zilina on Tuesday 23 November despite suffering from a nerve complaint that had looked set to keep him out for several months.
The England international will not play in the match against Birmingham, but it seems the club's doctors have discovered the cause of the problem and Terry is likely to be back in action soon.
Meanwhile, Yury Zhirkov is ruled out of the Birmingham game with a calf complaint and Ancelotti confirmed that France international Florent Malouda will start in the game.
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