London – Chelsea will be without captain John Terry for Saturday's Premier League match at home to relegation-threatened Wigan Athletic with the centre back suffering from an inflamed knee, manager Rafael Benitez said.
“It's a setback, but not serious,” Benitez told reporters on Friday.
The former England skipper has been dogged by a knee problem this season, returning to action in January after two months out.
Benitez said their Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech and Senegal striker Demba Ba were both available after pulling out of midweek internationals through injury.
Ba suffered a broken nose in the 3-2 league defeat at his former club Newcastle United last weekend and has been training in a protective mask.
Chelsea are still without Victor Moses and John Obi Mikel who will line up for Nigeria in the African Nations Cup final this weekend but playmaker Eden Hazard is available after suspension.
The Belgian has served his three-match ban for kicking a ball boy which earned him a red card for violent conduct in the second leg of the Capital One (League) Cup semi-final defeat by Swansea City on Jan. 23.
Hazard scored for Belgium with an early penalty in their friendly win over Slovakia in midweek.
Brazilian David Luiz, who featured in his country's loss to England at Wembley on Wednesday, is also back in Benitez's plans after missing the club's last three games with a calf injury.
Third-placed Chelsea, seven points behind Manchester City and 16 adrift of leaders Manchester United, have won only three of their last 10 matches in all competitions. – Reuters