Frank Lampard scored twice and captain John Terry first to inspire Chelsea to a 1 – 3 win over Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on Monday night to keep the Blues’ title hopes afloat.

Skipper Terry, 30, opened the scoring with a first-half header before vice-captain Lampard, 32, ended relegation-threatened Blackpool’s resistance with two goals in the second period, one a penalty.

Jason Puncheon, who hit the post for the home team in the first half, pulled a goal back with four minutes to go when he drilled a low left-footed shot into the corner of the net.

Chelsea are fourth in the table with 51 points from 28 matches. They have a game in hand on leaders Manchester United (60 points) and visit the Old Trafford side later in the season.

“I don’t think we were at our best today. At times we were a bit sloppy but luckily with a bit of quality up front we won it,” Lampard told Sky Sports.

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Chelsea captain John Terry may be ruled out for months due to a chronic leg nerve problem. Terry is facing an indefinite spell on the sidelines as doctors work to cure a long-term nerve problem in his right leg.

The news is the latest blow for Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti, who saw his side beaten 3-0 at home by Sunderland on Sunday. Ancelotti is also dealing with persistent injuries to Frank Lampard and Michael Essien, and is playing Didier Drogba despite a bout of malaria.

Now he faces being without his captain Terry for weeks — maybe even months — as the defender attempts to get to the bottom of an injury that has been troubling him since the end of last season.

Terry said: ‘I have been struggling with a nerve pain coming from the top of my leg down to my hamstring and to the outside of my calf. It started towards the end of last season but with Chelsea being in the mix until the day of the FA Cup final, I didn’t have the chance to rest or pull out of games. Then I went straight to the World Cup with England.

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John Terry might miss the World Cup in South Africa after being taken to hospital after a bad blow to his foot at training.

Fabio Capello already has injury doubts over a number of players, including Gareth Barry, and Terry can now add himself to the list after a possible metatarsal injury that he suffered in a Chelsea training session at Cobham.

Already with problems over the fitness of Rio Ferdinand and Ledley King’s chronic knee, England named five central defenders in their provisional squad, giving callups to Michael Dawson, Jamie Carragher and Matthew Upson.

Source: soccernet.espn.go.com

John Terry, Chelsea captain believes the support he received from English teammates and fans since losing the armband shows unity.

The 29-year-old, stripped of the armband following allegations involving Wayne Bridge’s ex-girlfriend that led to his former Chelsea team-mate turning his back on England, was subjected to jeers from a pocket of fans at Wembley when his name was read out before kick-off.

The boos from a minority of supporters continued in the first half but were forgotten by half-time, with England then coming back from a goal behind at the interval to record a victory in the friendly against Africa’s champions.

Terry is hoping a line is now drawn under the saga and Fabio Capello’s men can put the finishing touches to their preparations for the World Cup this summer with the backing of the fans.

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Manchester City defender Wayne Bridge will face John Terry for the first time time this Saturday at Stamford Bridge since the  fall-out from Terry’s alleged affair with his ex-girlfriend. He has also stated that he does not wish to be chosen for the England World Cup squad.

Bridge released a statement through his lawyers on Thursday, confirming that he does not wish to be selected for Fabio Capello’s squad for this year’s World Cup in South Africa because his presence would be potentially “divisive”.

The former Chelsea left-back has been considering his international future since reports of Terry’s affair with his former partner Vanessa Perroncel, a French underwear model with whom he has a four-year-old child, first came to light.

Terry was stripped of the England captaincy by Capello as a result of the scandal and the Italian had thought Bridge would continue to play for his country.

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Chelsea captain John Terry steered his team 5 points clear on the Premier League table ahead of champions Manchester United by beating them 1 – 0 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

The eagerly-awaited showdown had been meandering towards a disappointing goalless draw until Terry was left unmarked to glance in a Frank Lampard free kick — with striker Nicolas Anelka claiming he got the final touch.

The victory took Chelsea to 30 points, five clear of Arsenal, who won 4-1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, and United, who also lost to Liverpool last month.

Tottenham Hotspur are fourth on 22 after they beat Sunderland 2-0 on Saturday. Liverpool host Birmingham City on Monday.

Earlier on Sunday, Hull City beat visitors Stoke City 2-1 with a stoppage-time goal, Everton won 2-1 at West Ham United while Wigan Athletic drew 1-1 at home to Fulham.

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England and Chelsea captain John Terry stated on Sunday that leaving Chelsea was never a possibility and that he is fully committed to the club.

Terry had been a target for Manchester City, with local media speculating that they had offered him a salary of £200 000 per week after making a bid of around £30 million.

The 28-year-old centre back and club captain remained silent on the issue despite City manager Mark Hughes regularly confirming his interest and British newspapers ramping up the speculation.

He finally made a statement on the club’s website (www.chelseafc.co.uk.) on Sunday saying: “There has been a lot of speculation recently about my future and I want to clear this up once and for all.

“I am totally committed to Chelsea and always have been.

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