Antonio Conte Reveals That Terry Could Return To The Bench Against Southampton

Ahead of Sunday’s match against Southampton, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has revealed that captain John Terry could find himself on the bench as the blues try to continue their good run in the premiership.

Terry returned to action mid-week in the EFL cup 2-1 defeat to West Ham after being out for six weeks due to an ankle injury. Terry struggled in the match and was clearly lacking match fitness and was responsible for the first goal of West Ham as he was easily beaten in the air by Cheikhou Kouyate who headed the ball pass goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.

Chelsea in recent weeks have thrived under the new system of Antonio Conte which has seen the team adopt a three-man defense and with Terry struggling to fit into this system Conte has hinted that the center back could find himself on the bench.

He said:

“I don’t like to talk about individual players. We win together and we lose together in every circumstance. It’s logical that John came back from injury and it’s not easy to restart and to find quickly the right shape. John is an important player for us, if he plays, if he doesn’t play, for the changing room, for his teammates, for the club.

“I repeat: in this case always it’s important the team and not to think or to speak about an individual player. I have always to take the best decision for the team, never for an individual player.”
Chelsea are placed fourth on the table just a point behind Manchester City.