Lampard stays positive as Terry heads Chelsea's injury list

The defender, captain for club and country, damaged medial ligaments in training and is expected to need four weeks to recover.

Sidelined: John Terry watches on after the Community Shield

He missed yesterday's Community Shield defeat to Manchester United and could be out of Chelsea's first five Premiership games, as well as England's Euro 2008 qualifiers against Israel and Russia.

Terry has already been ruled out of the friendly with Germany in a fortnight but Lampard, his Chelsea and England team-mate, insisted there is no need to panic.

The midfielder said: "I am sure it will not be that long until John is fit because it is quite a small injury in knee terms. With the strength he has I am sure he will be out there in a few weeks."

Tal Ben Haim played in Terry's place for Chelsea and could not help his new side avoid a defeat on penalties despite Florent Malouda equalising Ryan Giggs' opener for United.

Terry was already being nursed through problems caused by a broken toe and, with Didier Drogba struggling for fitness, another injury to a star player was the last thing manager Jose Mourinho needed.

At least seven Chelsea players have injury concerns, including Glen Johnson, who needed to be withdrawn at Wembley after hurting his knee, and Malouda, who suffered a dead leg when scoring at the end of the first half.

Mourinho said Ben Haim was brought in this summer to save his skin and in Terry's absence the Israeli defender will be asked to do so sooner than expected.

Ben Haim said: "I am a leader at the back. The defence see everything so we need to communicate with all the team."

Chelsea start their campaign at home next Sunday to Steve Bruce's Birmingham and Lampard is optimistic they can cope with the injuries.

He said: "We have got more cover for John this season than last. I think Ben Haim did well against United and hopefully we will not miss John that much.

"We have got a strong team and strong personalities. We have got a lot of experience and we are going into the season with confidence."

Battler: Ben Haim clashes with Wayne Rooney during the Community Shield

Lampard has not been included in Chelsea's list of walking wounded and stood in for Terry despite a suffering from a broken toe.

The responsibility of the captaincy eased the pain a little and the midfielder said the challenge of reclaiming the title from United is another spur.

Lampard said: "I don't feel less pressure this season because we are not champions. I feel the pressure we put on ourselves, which is there every year anyway.

"We had it fairly easy for a couple of years when we won the title comfortably and now it is a great challenge to get it back."

Malouda could be a key figure in Chelsea's attempt to win the league, scoring a good goal when he shook off Rio Ferdinand.

He looked lively in a experimental front three with Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips and is confident of recovering in time to play against Birmingham.

Lampard said: "Malouda is certainly a team player. He has very good quality on the ball. You can see that from the teams he has played for at Lyon and with France. He knows how to fit in."