QPR defender Anton Ferdinand will want to face up against Chelsea and John Terry, according to Danny Gabbidon.
QPR defender backs his team-mate against the Blues
Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand will want to face up against Chelsea and John Terry, according to defensive partner Danny Gabbidon.
QPR set up a mouth-watering tie FA Cup fourth round tie with their West London rivals on Monday by defeating MK Dons 1-0 in their third round replay, with Gabbidon's second-half header proving decisive.
The Hoops won the Premier League clash against Chelsea at Loftus Road earlier this season - a match also remembered for allegations that Blues captain Terry aimed racial abuse at Ferdinand. Terry has always denied the allegations.
QPR manager Mark Hughes will check with Ferdinand before deciding whether to play him on January 28, although Gabbidon believes his fellow defender will be keen to feature.
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"Of course he will want to play," the 32-year-old Welshman said. "He loves his football and wants to play in every game.
"He will want to go out and show what he can do.
"When he played against them the last time he was one of the best players on the pitch as we beat them 1-0 and he will want to show that again.
"There is going to be a lot of talk about what happened leading up to the game and it is maybe going to be a little more difficult for him than the rest of us.
"It will be different for Anton because he is the one involved in it but, hopefully, he will have his head on his game and perform well.
"He has the character to do that and is an experienced player.
"It can be tough at times when everyone is talking about it and your family is getting threats from people.
"It's not nice but he is a very level-headed guy and will want to let his football do the talking.
Recovering
"When it first happened, the first few games after that he wasn't himself but he realises now he's come back and he will want to put in a good performance," continued Gabbidon.
"We didn't talk about it too much [after it happened].
"You try to get on with things as quickly as possible and you don't want to keep bringing it up too much to him.
"We were all upset for him but we tried to move on quickly."
