Conte may have to hand Davis Luiz a start in next week’s game against Liverpool as ace Chelsea defender John Terry twisted his ankle during a 2-2 draw against Swansea City.
Premier League giants Chelsea managed to maintain their unbeaten run in the Premier League, but Blues captain Terry pulled off an injury during the final minutes and had to leave the Liberty stadium on crutches.
Diego Costa helped the Blues salvage a point against Swansea City after scoring a brace in a high-octane 2-2 The Spanish star clinched the equaliser in the 81st minute from a spectacular bicycle kick.
John Terry twisted his ankle during stoppage and had to remain on the pitch after referee blew the final whistle before receiving medical attention while his teammates left the field and walked towards the tunnel. The legendary English defender looked in pain was unable to get up on his feet.
Reports confirm that Terry had to leave the Liberty stadium on crutches, which has left the club and the manager in a difficult situation ahead of next week’s high-octane clash against the reds. It is believed that Terry is now set to miss next week’s clash against Liverpool, perhaps making space for new man David Luiz, who returned to Chelsea from Paris Saint-Germain on deadline day.
Conte wanted to give Luiz more time to settle and regain full match sharpness. The Italian wanted the Brazilian defender to work on his weaknesses and rectify his kamikaze mentality but with Terry injured ahead of the high-voltage encounter at home against Liverpool – he is left with no options but to give Luiz a start.
Conte was disappointed at the referee’s decision of not booking Leroy Fer for a foul on Gary Cahill which led to Swansea’s second goal in the second half.
“It’s a bit difficult to talk about the game because we lost two points,” Conte told Sky Sports.
“I don’t want to talk about the decision [for the second Swansea goal] but I think it was a bad decision by the referee.
“I can tell you that Diego Costa from the first minute to 94 minutes… he took a lot of kicks. It’s incredible the defender didn’t finish [sent-off] before the match.”
After Costa’s 81st minute equaliser, Conte saw the possibilities of clinching a last gasp winner but unfortunately they had settle with a point from Sunday’s crucial encounter. Chesea now sits at the second place on the points table below Guardiola’s Man City.
“We had the possibility to kill the game and, if you have that possibility, you must kill the game. We must learn this,” said Conte.
“We were leading 1-0 and then, in two minutes, we were losing 2-1 and risked losing the game. It’s difficult to think we lost those two points today.”