Chelsea captain John Terry out for weeks and not months

Chelsea captain John Terry has avoided serious injury and has only been ruled out for a number of weeks instead of the months that was dreaded.

The centre-back was stretchered off in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool after a collision with Luis Suarez and it was feared he had suffered season-ending damage to his knee, but after further assessment, it has been announced Terry will only be sidelined on a short-term basis.

An announcement on Chelsea’s official twitter account read: “MRI Scans reveal no significant damage to John Terry’s cruciate ligaments.

“He will be out weeks rather than months.”

Terry had scored the opener in the 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge but then had to leave the field in the 39th minute after lengthy treatment.

The collision with Terry was accidental on the behalf of Suarez, who scored Liverpool’s equaliser in the second half.

And the Uruguayan later said on Twitter: “Hugs to Terry, I hope it’s nothing serious.”

Terry was making his first appearance since returning from his domestic ban for racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand.

He will now undergo further tests on his knee but the news he will not be on the sidelines for months is a major boost for Chelsea’s squad.

Roberto Di Matteo’s European champions are facing a hectic fixture list in the build-up to Christmas and are already experiencing a wobble in the Premier League.

The draw with Liverpool was a second successive draw in the top flight having also been pegged back by Swansea City on the previous weekend.