John Terry injury not as bad as Chelsea feared

The Blues skipper was stretchered off in agony after an accidental collision with Luis Suarez during yesterday's 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

There were fears he could be ruled out for the long term but an MRI scan found no ligament damage.

Terry is still likely to be sidelined for between two and six weeks.

Medical staff must wait for the swelling to go down before they can properly examine his right knee, which he had surgery on in February.

Manager Roberto di Matteo will be relieved at the results, although he played down talk of a crisis beforehand.

Di Matteo's defence is already missing Ashley Cole, with a hamstring problem, and David Luiz, who has tonsillitis.

But he said: "At centre-back we have cover."

The Italian was confident Cole and Luiz would be fit for Saturday's trip to West Brom but admitted Frank Lampard was set to miss out again with a calf problem.

Sunday was Terry's first domestic appearance since his four-match racism ban.

The defender had been enjoying a dream return to action when he powered Chelsea ahead from a corner after 20 minutes.

The Blues badly missed Terry during his ban and they struggled defensively after he went off, allowing Suarez to snatch a draw.

Meanwhile, fellow Chelsea veteran Lampard could be heading for the exit after reportedly opening talks with Chinese club Guizhou Renhe.

Renhe's deputy board chairman Yang Xiayou was quoted yesterday as saying the club were in contact with Lampard but that no deal had been done.

Club chairman Dai Yongge had previously claimed Lampard would join them as captain in January.

Lampard's agent declined to comment on the rumours and di Matteo dismissed the link to Renhe when the subject was raised after the Liverpool game.

Chelsea are thought to be unwilling to offer more than a one-year extension to Lampard, who could follow the example of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka in securing one last lucrative deal elsewhere.

Renhe, who are based in China's south-western province of Guizhou, qualified for the AFC Champions League for the first time last season after a fourth-place finish in the Super League.