JT injury shock

The England defender has not played since he fractured three bones in his right foot following a tackle by Arsenal's Emmanuel Eboue on 16 December.

Terry's injury will be reassessed the moment he reports back from holiday in Dubai, to find out whether he can feature again before the summer but Chelsea's attempts to sign Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic show how worried the club have become.

Chelsea initially announced Terry would be out for a minimum of six weeks and the player himself targeted mid-February and the resumption of Champions League combat for a return.

Terry has been given a special boot to help his bones knit together quickly. The 27-year-old needs rest, though, to ensure that the injury heals correctly. In the past, the skipper has tried to rush back too quickly in order to help out in a crisis but this time manager Avram Grant may decide the risk is too great.

At least the Chelsea boss had some good news yesterday, with Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda returning to training.

Drogba has been out since he had knee surgery four weeks ago, while Malouda has been out with a knee problem of his own since November.

The appearance of Drogba on the training pitch is bittersweet for Grant - the striker is not in contention for tomorrow's FA Cup tie with QPR at home tomorrow and is set to join the Ivory Coast squad on Monday ahead of the African Nations' Cup, which could potentially see him away for up to seven weeks.

Goalkeepers Petr Cech (hip) and Carlo Cudicini (ribs) have still not returned to training, while striker Andriy Shevchenko (leg) is also likely to miss the QPR clash.

Even though the club had up to 10 players missing over the Christmas period due to injury and suspension, Chelsea managed to pick up more league points than Manchester United and Liverpool.

Of the title contenders, only Arsenal matched their haul of 10 points out of a possible 12 and Grant believes it's a sign of the impact he's made since taking over.

Under Jose Mourinho last year, Chelsea picked up just six points over the same period even though the only key players to be missing were Cech and Terry.

Grant said: "From the four games we deserved at least 10 points and showed we have a good squad. It's not easy to play with injured or suspended players. Our team last year was missing two players and found it very difficult, so now it is more difficult, but everybody showed good character and our strength.

"I can only say I am proud of them because it's not easy to play and a few of the players are not 100 per cent fit and want to give everything to the team."

Ben Sahar and Scott Sinclair are hoping to get a rare chance to impress against QPR, where they have both just spent a period on loan.

Sahar and Sinclair spent three months and one month at Loftus Road respectively in a bid to get first team experience.

Sahar never got to show his best form after having an appendix operation at the start of his spell, but he insists Chelsea have nothing to fear from the Championship side.

He said: "I don't think the players need to know too much from me about the opposition because while they are improving in the Championship, we are Chelsea and playing at home. If we play like we can, we will win this game.

"I want to be involved and play for Chelsea, this is my team. If it's against my ex-team, it will be exciting for me.

"When me and Scott were there they hadn't been doing too well and it was hard. The team were struggling a bit, but they have started to play well now.

"The manager hasn't asked me anything about how they play just yet, but we have better players and should win this game."