Andre Villas-Boas is hoping that Chelsea captain John Terry may be able to return from a knee operation in four weeks' time.
Chelsea captain to undergo knee operation on Wednesday
Andre Villas-Boas is hoping that Chelsea captain John Terry may be able to return from a knee operation in four weeks' time.
Terry is due to undergo a knee operation on Wednesday after failing to shake off an injury he first suffered against Portsmouth in the FA Cup at the start of January.
The centre-half played in Chelsea's subsequent three fixtures, but he has missed the last five games which the Blues have failed to win while conceding 10 goals without keeping a clean sheet.
A return within six weeks is the likely timescale for Terry's recovery, but Villas-Boas is keeping his fingers crossed that his skipper will be back sooner to boost an ailing back-line.
Suffered
"I think four weeks would be excellent," said Villas-Boas after the 3-1 UEFA Champions League defeat by Napoli on Tuesday night.
"We will have to wait to see tomorrow how the operation goes and hopefully the player can return in that frame of time. Normally it's four or six weeks.
"Without John we are missing a very important player for the team and have suffered a lot of goals recently, contrary to what was happening at the beginning of January.
"We have full belief in these players and have to continue to work to get it right [but] I think we have to focus on reorganising this relationship between the back four.
"We have to solve these mistakes at the back so that you can profit better from the opportunities you have and the goals you score."
