Guus
Hiddink believes Chelsea are more than prepared to deal with the absence of
injured captain John Terry in their Champions League match away to Paris
Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
Terry suffered a hamstring injury during Saturday's 5-1 victory over
Newcastle United and has not travelled with the rest of the Chelsea squad
after failing a fitness test at the club's Cobham training ground on Monday.
Left-back Baba Rahman replaced Terry against the Magpies, with Cesar
Azpilicueta switching to right-back and Branislav Ivanovic moving across to
partner Gary Cahill in central defence for the remainder of the match at
Stamford Bridge.
Ahead of their first-leg encounter at Parc des Princes, Hiddink refused to
confirm who would replace Terry, but insisted he had full confidence in his
squad.
"We had the problem in the previous game against Newcastle and we have
practiced, not because one player got an injury, but we do a lot of
practising where we put other people in central defence," Hiddink said.
"So it was not a surprise for the players that we had to make some changes.
Of course, not having John is a bit of a set-back, as a leader.
"But I am not the type of coach or manager who starts moaning, moaning and
moaning. We have to go on and the players who will replace him, I have full
confidence in them."
PSG defeated Chelsea on away goals at the same stage last season, with Terry
featuring in both legs.
Hiddink added: "It was not a decision made by me because he was having too
much trouble to travel, even to try tomorrow [Tuesday].
"We made a test this morning and it didn't work out well. The decision was
made to leave him at home. He was convinced he could not be of worth for the
team at the moment.
"He has a little problem with his hamstring and on a little tendon in his
hamstring area. That's why we made an ultimate test this morning and we
decided not to participate."
When asked whether Terry would be available for Chelsea's FA Cup fifth-round
match against Manchester City on Sunday, Hiddink said: "Difficult,
difficult. That's why we prefer to have him at Cobham in the training centre
for daily treatment and see how is development will be for the weekend."
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