Chelsea news: John Terry set to miss Leicester game but return for Arsenal on Saturday

The Chelsea captain's absence was felt on Friday night when Chelsea lost 2-1 to Liverpool, but he is expected to recover from a foot injury this weekend

John Terry strained ligaments in his foot against Swansea (Getty Images)

John Terry is expected to return to the Chelsea team for Saturday's crucial Premier League trip to Arsenal.

The Chelsea captain is currently recovering from a foot injury, and will miss the League Cup game at Leicester City on Tuesday evening. But he is confident of winning his fitness battle so that he is ready to play at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Terry injured ankle ligaments during Chelsea's 2-2 draw at Swansea on 11 September. This injury ruled him out last Friday's 2-1 home defeat to Liverpool, where David Luiz made his second debut, alongside Gary Cahill, and Chelsea struggled at the back.

But Terry has been working hard on his comeback, trained on his own at Cobham on Monday, and is thought to be optimistic about a weekend return. "John is recovering," Antonio Conte said. "I saw him outside today and he is recovering. After this game we’ll see his physical condition."

Conte was angry on Friday evening after the first defeat of his Chelsea tenure, but he said yesterday that he was confident the players would respond the right way in the biggest week of their season so far. "[I gave the players] he same message that I gave after the game, that when you concede two goals in this way – after a free-kick and throw-in – we must pay attention in every moment of the game," Conte said.

"You must pay attention to details because details change results. In this case it happened because when you are losing 2-0 it’s very difficult to win or draw. The reaction was good, we scored a goal and we could have scored another but it was late."

Despite two disappointing results in a row, Conte was bullish about the prospect of improvement this week. "During training I’ve seen the right intensity, the right commitment from the players," he said, in an interview that can be seen in full on Chelsea TV.

"It’s a big week because we face two very strong teams, but we are ready. We know we have to work to improve because I know we can improve a lot, this is important."