Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has confirmed he will award captain John Terry time off to deal with his current legal issues if the defender wants, ESPN reports. Terry has been charged with a racially aggravated public order offence against QPR defender Anton Ferdinand in the league meeting between the two in October.
Villas-Boas praised the England international for his performance in the FA Cup tie at Loftus Road this weekend and Terry is in court in Westminster on Thursday to answer the charge. Terry has denied the accusation since it was made and has continued to play for the Blues since the charge was made in December. The Blues boss has insisted that if time off is needed, the club will allow their captain as long as possible. Villas-Boas is hopeful that Terry will not need a break and is backing his captain wholeheartedly.
The Portuguese manager said: ‘Eventually, if it is important for the justice, we will do it. You have seen with the off-field events, we haven’t stopped using John, and his level of performance has not been affected. If that continues to be the case, we will continue to do it. He is a player that has been through various situations, situations of stress and great, difficult atmospheres. Bearing in mind the events that have happened in the past, he showed that this was just another game for him and he was just interested in football.’
Chelsea play Swansea at the Liberty Stadium on Wednesday and Terry is expected to play once again, despite having a court case the following day. The 31 year old will be looking to lead his side to victory and close the gap on third placed Tottenham, as they look to secure a Champions League place for next season.
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