Terry raring to go in Moscow
by Tom Adams, 15 May 2008
John Terry insists he is fighting fit ahead of the Champions League final and has warned Manchester United that Chelsea are ‘at the top of their game’ going into the Moscow showdown.
The Blues skipper emerged as a real doubt for the final when being stretchered off in the final Premier League game of the season but a quick trip to hospital on Sunday was followed by the good news that he had only dislocated his elbow against Bolton, rather than suffering a more serious injury.
Terry trained in front of the world’s media on Wednesday with his arm heavily strapped, but there are no fears that he will miss the final despite some lingering discomfort.
“My elbow is alright,” Terry told Chelsea TV. “There is just a bit of strapping in case I fall on it and jar it.
“The last couple of days it has been getting better and hopefully on Thursday I am going to train without the strapping.
“I have full range of movement. It is a little stiff when I wake up in the mornings but when the physios do a bit of work on it and I do some swimming, it frees right up.”
Chelsea are busy preparing for the biggest game in the club’s history and Avram Grant’s hopes of lifting the European Cup have been given further impetus by the news that Didier Drogba and Ricardo Carvalho shrugged off injury knocks to train on Wednesday.
The Blues missed out on the Premier League title on the final day of the season but Terry has warned Sir Alex Ferguson and his troops that Chelsea are not ready to suffer such disappointment again, and are looking to better their efforts under Jose Mourinho and Claudio Ranieri in Europe’s biggest competition.
“We have lost out in the past against Liverpool and Monaco and I really don’t want to sit back and say we have thrown it away again,” Terry added.
“We have the chance of a lifetime – a great squad of players and in great form at the moment.
“Man United have been in good form themselves but we are at the top of our game, we have everyone fit and we need to take the game to them.”