Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez said the decision to drop captain John Terry to the bench for the 1-0 win over West Brom had nothing to do with concerns over the defender’s fitness.
The 32-year-old has been plagued by a knee injury for much of this season and doubts have been raised as to whether Terry, who started against Middlesbrough in midweek, can play two games in three or four days.
But Benitez, who has denied a bust-up with his skipper in recent weeks, insisted Terry was fully fit.
“We have seven players on the bench. That is the way the rules are and he was one of them,” Benitez said.
“He trained yesterday like the rest of the players on the bench. The only one that was a little bit weak was [Gary] Cahill. Everyone was available and you have to manage the team.
“He was not playing before because he was injured for 16 weeks.”
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This post was last modified on 03/03/2013
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Is not that Benitez is very bad like that, is just that his past is hurting him. Not every step he take that we will be questioning or condemning, but he must know one thing for sure that throughout the remaining time he will spend at chelsea he must try not to lose any game. Let's put sentiment apart Benitez is a good coach, he has experience and he can still do better anywhere else. The issue on ground is that the fans dont just want to see his face at all because he has rude to them when he was at Liverpool before he came to Chelsea.