End of road for Chelsea rock Terry

John Terry may have to look for a career outside the Premier League after Chelsea benched their captain for the crunch Champions League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Terry was expected to return from a four-match domestic ban and plug Chelsea's porous defence.

"John is an important player for us for sure and a fantastic defender and when he plays he always does very well," coach Roberto Di Matteo told reporters last week.

"The other players have done fantastic jobs when they have come in but certainly JT is a player that we miss."

But on match day Terry was on a bike, warming up on the sidelines and saddled with a substitute's jacket.

It was a big call by the Italian who opted not to disturb the new central defensive pairing of Davis Luiz and Gary Cahill.

Terry has under a cloud after being found guilty of racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand which forced him to call time on his England career.

Now he must be uncertain of his future at the Blues after being bench for such an important game.

Di Matteo said: "It wasn't easy to tell John he wasn't starting the game.

"Considering the last four weeks in his professional life, he's had one competitive game, and we needed players who were 100 per cent match fit for a game like this."

With England left-back Ashley Cole sidelined with a hamstring injury, Terry would have been a calming influence on rookie Ryan Bertrand.

In the absence of the Cole, Chelsea repeatedly found themselves exposed on their left flank.

"We didn't have Frank Lampard available, Ashley Cole wasn't available, and JT (Terry) didn't play," said Di Matteo.

Terry faces a race against time to win back his place under Di Matteo.

"John has many qualities and I'm very happy he's available for us after the ban," added Di Matteo. "We will certainly need him."

After the chaos in Chelsea's defence on Wednesday ight, the Italian may be forced to recall his aging star before Liverpool arrive on Sunday.

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