Terry out again, as Chelsea jinx strikes

OPORTO - IT HAS been the story of Chelsea this season: Every budding hope tempered with more bad news.

Their 1-1 draw at Porto in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday was a perfect example.

Andriy Shevchenko elevated himself to a new high with a goal of pure class.

Manager Jose Mourinho showed off his brilliant tactical mind.

But not before captain John Terry pulled up after just nine minutes, and left the stadium in a plaster cast and on crutches.

Of course, the England defender will miss Sunday's League Cup final against Arsenal.

But the real fear is the early prognosis: He will be out for six weeks with ligament damage in his ankle, just three games since his return from a back injury.

Khalid Boulahrouz, in his first comeback match since knee-ligament damage, dislocated his shoulder in the 4-0 FA Cup victory over Norwich City on Saturday.

That leaves the champions with just one fit central defender, Ricardo Carvalho.

Mourinho was quick to reopen the war with owner Roman Abramovich, who had denied him the funds for a back-up in last month's transfer window.

He said: 'We are not in an easy situation. When will John be back? I don't know.

'But I'm so cool about it because, every day, I lose a player. It's absolutely unbelievable.

'We will have to play with Michael Essien, who is unstoppable in midfield, in defence now. We have no choice.'

It was no coincidence that Porto scored in Terry's absence with Chelsea a man down, with Mourinho looking to bring on John Obi Mikel and shore up the defence.

From a free kick, Essien headed clear but the ball fell to Raul Meireles.

His volley, taking a slight deflection off Jorge Fucile, sailed past Petr Cech for the first goal conceded by Chelsea in 6hr 24min.

Mourinho reacted by throwing on Arjen Robben instead, and changing formation - 4-4-2 became 4-3-3.

Immediately, the Dutch winger played a clever ball inside the backline. Shevchenko finished the move with a left-footed shot across goalkeeper Helton.

That took the £30.8million (S$92.5million) striker above Portugal's Eusebio and on to 58 goals in 104 European appearances - second only to German Gerd Muller's 62.

Equally significant was Mourinho's praise for the player who had been building a reputation as an overpriced dud from AC Milan.

'Shevchenko was brilliant,' he said. 'Even if he doesn't score, he has become almost untouchable because we are delighted with his efforts.'

Porto were far from daunted.

The precocious Ricardo Quaresma jinked towards goal and was stopped.

But the ball broke to Lisandro Lopez, whose shot was brilliantly pushed away by Cech.

Then, from an angle, the winger Quaresma struck Lopez's pass with the outside of his right foot. The ball drifted away from Cech, only to come back off the bar.

It was mere inches from being one of the great Champions League goals, reported The Guardian.

Mourinho had seen enough, and it was time to kill off the threat.

With Robben suffering a muscle injury, Mourinho replaced him with Mikel, whose job was to double up on Quaresma with right-back Lassana Diarra.

It worked. The hosts became frustrated and, after drawing the sting in a sterile second half, Chelsea hit back.

Didier Drogba hit the outside of the post, Shevchenko had an attempt blocked and Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard, playing despite stomach problems, also went close.

'I made the right decisions on the pitch,' the Portuguese manager said.

Said his opposite number Jesualdo Ferreira: 'One-one is clearly a negative result for Porto.'

Terry looks set to miss the return leg at Stamford Bridge and the FA Cup quarter-final against Tottenham, along with several Premiership games against lesser sides.

'We cannot cry,' said Mourinho. 'We are in four competitions.'

April 15 is the date that looms the largest: Chelsea host Manchester United in the Premiership.

Terry should be back by then, blue fingers crossed.