Terry in race to face Valencia

Chelsea FC captain John Terry is to have surgery on a fractured cheekbone on Sunday that could keep him out of the midweek trip to Valencia CF.

No risks
Terry was hurt during the first half of today's Premier League fixture with Fulham FC following a collison with Clint Dempsey but carried on until half-time. Chelsea manager Avraham Grant then substituted the defender at the interval and said of him after the 0-0 draw that "he wanted to continue but we didn't want to take a risk".

Injury woes
While Wednesday's Group B encounter in the UEFA Champions League could come too soon for Terry after his operation, it is yet to be seen whether he will be available for England's UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifiers at home against Estonia on 13 October and in Russia four days later. Chelsea have suffered from a spate of injury problems of late, most notably Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba although the latter did return for the Fulham match before being sent off in the second half.