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Chelsea's John Terry doubtful for Tottenham clash because of 'dangerous pitch'

John Terry of Chelsea leaves the field on a stretcher
Image: John Terry is doubtful for Chelsea's trip to Tottenham on Sunday

Jose Mourinho blamed the pitch at Haifa's Sammy Ofer Stadium for the ankle injury suffered by John Terry, which could see the Chelsea captain ruled out of Sunday's Premier League clash at Tottenham.

Chelsea's Champions League fate will go to the final group game after a 4-0 win over 10-man Maccabi Tel Aviv saw them earn successive victories for the first time in two months.

Whether their resurgence - following Saturday's win over Norwich - is real will be tested by Spurs but there is a major doubt over whether Terry will feature at White Hart Lane after he departed on a stretcher.

"The surface was bad and dangerous," Mourinho said. "John has an ankle problem that we don't know yet the dimension of. For John to leave the pitch with the result 1-0 I know already that he is in trouble.

"My medical department is really good. John is a special guy, with a special desire to recover. But I think to leave the pitch with the result 1-0, I don't believe too much that he can play [against Spurs]."

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho looks on during the UEFA Champions League Group G match against Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Image: Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho described the pitch as 'dangerous'

Ramires was not in the matchday squad after suffering an injury in training on Monday, when Chelsea tried to minimise their time on the pitch.

"Yesterday we tried to protect [the pitch], we trained just a little bit. But by my surprise Maccabi were training after us, plus the warm-up before the game," Mourinho said. "The pitch was really bad. Ramires slid and had a muscular injury."

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After Gary Cahill's opening goal, Mourinho took it upon himself to replace divots on the pitch in front of his technical area. He said: "I think after what I did, I think it was worse. I tried."

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