John Terry retains desire to play for England, says Carlo Ancelotti

Posted Saturday, September 11, 2010 by theguardian.com

John Terry trains before Chelsea's match at West Ham after missing two England games with a hamstring injury.

Carlo Ancelotti is convinced John Terry retains the desire to add to his 65-cap England career though the Chelsea manager has warned his captain that the days when he could represent either club or country while carrying minor injuries are behind him.

Terry will play for Chelsea at West Ham this afternoon despite missing England's European Championship qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland with a hamstring problem. The injury restricted him to training on his own last week – he has played a full part in the squad's sessions since the weekend – and, given his previous willingness to play through the pain barrier, had prompted some questions over his commitment to the national set-up after a troubled World Cup.

Ancelotti dismissed the suggestion that the centre-half's desire to play for England may have waned since the tournament in South Africa but revealed he had felt compelled to speak to the defender, who turns 30 in December, and urged him to be honest over any niggles he had been experiencing. "His desire is to play for the national team again," said the Italian. "I'm sure about this. I don't think it's strange that he did not play in these games. He's almost 30 and he has to have more recovery time than when he was 25 or 26.

"It's normal behaviour. He needs to have more rest if he wants to stay at the top level for a long time, and I don't like a player who wants to play with injuries or when he's not 100%. A player has to say to me: 'I'm not 100%. You have to decide [whether I play].' It's difficult for a player to come to you and tell you he's not able to play, but a player has to say if he's got a problem or not. I'll make a decision. I can use a Didier Drogba or John Terry if they're not quite 100%, but I need to know.

"Terry took the right decision with the national team. He was not 100% and there might have been a problem if he'd played for them. Together, he and the national team took the right decision. Terry is a player with a strong character who loves to play for the shirt. But, also, he has to be realistic. I explained this to him and he agreed to do this. He said he wanted to use this time to recover and resolve this problem. He spoke with the national team and explained, and it was all OK."

The 29-year-old might have been fit enough to feature for England in Basle on Tuesday night, when Fabio Capello had been left with four fit centre-halves after losing Michael Dawson to knee and ankle ligament damage sustained in the victory over Bulgaria. The emergence of Phil Jagielka, who has excelled in England's three games this season, has cast doubt over whether the experienced partnership of Terry and Rio Ferdinand will be retained when both players are available again, though Ancelotti anticipates his captain returning to the international fold, along with his club-mate Frank Lampard.

"It'd be difficult to find better players than Terry and Lampard in England," said Ancelotti, who will be without the midfielder at Upton Park as he completes his recovery from minor groin surgery. The champions are braced for an awkward afternoon against West Ham, who prop up the table and are coached by the former Chelsea manager Avram Grant.

Ancelotti is certain his opposite number will eventually steer West Ham away from trouble. "There's not a good reason to get rid of him," he said. "If West Ham lose this game, they'll not be the only team to lose against Chelsea.

"You can't judge a manager in one month. We know people do in football – the Bologna manager [Franco Colomba] was sacked even before the start of the Serie A season – but I appreciate Avram Grant as a manager. I'm sure he'll get them out of trouble, not just because of the quality of the manager, but because of the quality of the players they have."