John Terry will not be fit
to face Porto in the UEFA Champions League on
Tuesday.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, speaking
after seeing his side beat Portsmouth, confirmed the England
captain is still recovering from a head injury sustained in last
Sunday's Carling Cup final.
"John Terry has no chance of playing against Porto," Mourinho
said.
"The man is before the player. JT is more important than a football
result and we don't risk him. The medical rules are the medical
rules."
Asked when Terry might return, Mourinho replied: "Maybe next
weekend against Tottenham (in the FA Cup quarter-finals).
The Chelsea coach was swift to praise the contribution made by Petr
Cech in the 2-0 win at Fratton Park.
"This is a goalkeeper that gives you 10 or 15 points a season. He
is the best."
Asked if he thought United were currently riding their luck after
back-to-back last-minute wins against Fulham and Liverpool,
Mourinho said: "Are they lucky? Yes. They win in the last minute
and they have no injuries so the gods are with them.
"But we have to be honest and fair with them and give them what
they deserve which is big respect to the manager and the
players.
"Our job is to keep winning matches and get back to six points
(behind) and have the pressure on them. We have to win all our
matches and wait for them to drop some points."
Frank Lampard echoed Mourinho's defiance.
He said: "It is still doable and we have to keep going. We saw the
game (at Anfield) earlier and we could have come out with our heads
down and not got a result. But we didn't. We battled well, got two
goals and the win.
"Man Utd are doing great. They have had two great late wins but it
doesn't always go your way. We have to keep plugging away and try
to close the gap."
Lampard agreed with Mourinho's assessment of Cech's importance to
the Chelsea cause, adding: "He's world class. If Petr hadn't been
injured so long we'd be up there with Man Utd."
Cech, who has kept seven clean sheets in 10 matches since returning
from a head injury sustained at Reading, insisted: "It (the title
race) is not finished."
