COME-BECK KID ... Terry chats to David on his return for Blues
Published: Today at 00:15
JOHN TERRY has revealed his relief at being cleared in court to resume his Chelsea and England career.
Speaking for the first time since being found not guilty of racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand, he insists he cannot wait for the new season to start.
Terry broke his silence after scoring in Chelsea’s high-profile 3-2 friendly defeat in Philadelphia by an MLS All-Stars side that featured David Beckham for some of the game.
And as the Blues headed to Miami for the final leg of their American tour, it was clear their captain remains as determined as ever — despite the furore caused by his recent court appearance.
Terry is still waiting to hear whether the FA will be taking any disciplinary action over his foul-mouthed exchange with Ferdinand, so he was not prepared to discuss the case.
But he did admit: “I’m delighted to be able to get back to football and concentrate on what I love doing.
“I’m focusing first and foremost on getting fit and cracking on with the new season. We’ve some big games coming up and I’m just looking forward to being part of that.”
Terry only joined up with Roberto Di Matteo’s squad last weekend, after being given extra time off to recover from England’s run to the Euro 2012 quarter-finals.
He is keen to remain a key player for new national boss Roy Hodgson, even if he has been deprived of the captaincy over the Ferdinand affair.
Terry added: “We’ve a game coming up against Italy and, when you take a step back from the Euros, I rated the tournament quite encouraging.
“Being knocked out on penalties again was a shame. But things were good under Roy.
“I’ve only been back in training for a week. But I’ve not had too long off this summer, so my fitness is already pretty good.
“I played for 30 minutes against Paris St Germain at the weekend and have now done another 45. The plan is to play longer in our next game against AC Milan on Saturday and keep building towards the Community Shield against Manchester City in a couple of weeks.”
One of the first people to welcome Terry when he returned to the squad in New York last Saturday was Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
The Russian was also at the team hotel in Philadelphia as he took the chance to check out some of the new additions to Di Matteo’s squad.
Terry declared: “I think it’s particularly good for the new players to see just how committed he is to this club.
“The club has spent a lot of money this summer on Eden Hazard and Marko Marin and now we’ve just signed Oscar as well. It’s clear the owner is making another big investment.
“But that’s what you have to do when you look at what teams like Manchester City and Paris St Germain are building.”
Chelsea’s target for the new season is to defend their Champions League crown and put up much more of a challenge in the Premier League.
Terry insisted: “I believe you can do well in both tournaments. But it’s a really difficult task as there are so many important games in the last few months of the season.”
