Wednesday, 6 March 2013

John Terry included in Chelsea squad for Europa League game in Prague - The Guardian

John Terry has travelled with Chelsea to the Czech Republic for Thursday's Europa League match at Sparta Prague despite missing their win over Wigan Athletic due to a knee injury.

The captain was part of a 19-man squad that travelled to the Czech capital for the last-32 first-leg contest at the Generali Arena.

David Luiz, Demba Ba, Victor Moses and Mikel Jon Obi missed the trip. Luiz is suspended, Ba is ineligible after representing Newcastle earlier in the competition and Moses and Mikel miss out after the Africa Cup of Nations.

Gary Cahill, who was withdrawn from the Wigan win after suffering cramp, is available for selection, while Petr Cech, who suffered a hairline fracture to his little finger on his left hand against Newcastle United, is in line to face his former club.

Sparta have not played a competitive match since early December due to the Czech winter break, but Cech, who played for them in the 2001-02 season before moving to Rennes, anticipates a challenging contest for last season's Champions League winners.

"They recently signed David Lafata, who has been the top scorer in the Czech Republic for the past two seasons, as well as Roman Bednar, who used to play for West Bromwich Albion," he said.

"They will have options and they are a team with a good blend of young, hungry players and experienced ones. For them, it will be the biggest game of their careers, so that's a danger because they will want to show they can do well against us."

The tie will be Chelsea's first away match in Europe since the November loss to Juventus which virtually sealed their Champions League exit and the fate of the then manager Roberto Di Matteo.

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