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Chelsea captain will John Terry will miss his fourth consecutive game after interim manager Guus Hiddink ruled him out of the trip to Norwich City.
Terry, 35, played every minute of every Premier League game as Chelsea won the title under Jose Mourinho last season, but will miss his seventh game of the season on Tuesday night.
The plan is for the former England captain to be fully fit when the Blues face Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of the Champions League on 9 March.
Hiddink even said he may organise a special training game to get Terry up to full speed.
"We'll see how we react and if he needs a game we might organise a game, an intense game. Maybe he needs 11 vs 11 at Cobham or maybe six versus six or seven versus seven but with intensity. It's very tight, it's very tight (if he will be fully fit)," said the Dutchman.
Show all 24 1 /24Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings SOUTHAMPTON: Fraser Forster - 7 out of 10 Broke a club record for minutes without conceding a goal (reached 667 in the 34th minute) and the England No 2 looked generally assured. But one moment's hesitation cost Southampton the first goal, even if he wasn't fully to blame.
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Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Cedric Soares - 6 out of 10 Did an excellent job in the first-half containing Eden Hazard but as the game went on struggled more and more to contain the Belgian, especially with the added threat of Kenedy.
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Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Jose Fonte - 7 out of 10 Didn't really put a foot wrong all afternoon when he was tasked with dealing with Costa and organised his defence pretty well.
Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Virgil van Dijk - 3 out of 10 Started well, dealing physically with Costa, but got too involved with the striker. Threw himself to the ground on a couple of occasions and was more interested in trying - and failing - to wind the striker up. Misjudged the flight of the ball on the first goal and was beaten all ends up by Ivanovic for the winning goal.
Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Ryan Bertrand - 7 out of 10 Why, oh why, did Chelsea ever sell Ryan Bertrand. Playing as the third centre-back the Englishman was comfortable on the ball and assured in his role. So far ahead of Baba Rahman it's beyond humour.
Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Matt Targett - 7 out of 10 How is he only 20? The young left-back has a brilliant future in front of him, he's calm and assured on the ball, does his defensive work well and gets up and down the pitch. He'll fetch a lot of money if Southampton decide to sell. Willian rarely got the better of him.
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Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Jordy Clasie - 6 out of 10 Clasie by name, classy by nature. The Dutchman was excellent in possession and very disciplined in tracking Cesc Fabregas and limiting the Spaniard's impact. He did fade late on, however.
Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Oriol Romeu - 7 out of 10 If there was more patience at Stamford Bridge then Romeu may well have worked out as a very valuable squad player. As it is he's a very impressive Premier League midfielder who can do a bit of everything.
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Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Steven Davis - 6 out of 10 He may not be able to get forward as much as he used to, but the Northern Ireland captain provides a valuable service to Southampton, although the introduction of Kenedy proved too much to handle down their right.
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Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Charlie Austin - 5 out of 10 Doesn't look quite up to full speed just yet and was bullied a little bit by Ivanovic and Cahill. Worked hard and tried to use his body but didn't hold it up as much as Southampton might have liked before being withdrawn.
Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Shane Long - 8 out of 10 His goal was straight out of the Shane Long manual and his injury changed the make up of the game. The Irishman never gives defenders a moment's rest and he, of course, was first to pounce on Baba Rahman's awful error - complete with a fantastic chipped finish at the end of it. After coming off with injury Southampton were no longer able to press and harry high up the pitch, giving Chelsea a stronger footing.
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Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings From the bench: Graziano Pelle - 4 out of 10 The difference between Long and Pelle was gargantuan. Southampton lost all attacking threat and were no longer able to defend from the front. Even when they tried to play balls into the Italian he wasn't able to hold it, piling the pressure back on to the home side.
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Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings CHELSEA: Thibaut Courtois - 5 out of 10 Was never troubled in the first half, but will feel he may have reacted quicker to get to Long after hesitating.
Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Cesar Azpilicueta - 7 out of 10 Defended well in his new position at right back while regularly getting forward to help with attacks.
Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Branislav Ivanovic - 8 out of 10 Made a few key blocks to stop Austin from getting any shots in at goal, and used his ability to put in challenges, without being penalised, to good use time and time again. He may have done more to track Long's run, before coming up with a powerful winning goal.
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Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Gary Cahill - 6 out of 10 Worked well, again, alongside Ivanovic and made some key clearances to keep Southampton at bay. Was the subject of a penalty appeal for handball, but it didn't look to be one.
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Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Baba Rahman - 3 out of 10 After a start to the game that saw the left back impress going forward but give the ball away while trying to track back and defend, Baba will have done nothing to show Hiddink he can be Chelsea's first-choice defender in that position when he headed a long ball straight into the path of Long - resulting in the opening goal. Was hauled off at the break for Kenedy.
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Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings John Obi Mikel - 7 out of 10 His importance to the team was easy to see once again at St Mary's as the midfielder protected the Blues' defence well with interceptions and blocks. He will feel disappointed he directed a header in front of goal just over.
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Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Cesc Fabregas - 8 out of 10 Linked up well with his attacking team-mates, but disappointed on one or two occasions when he sloppily gave the ball away. Despite needing to be more of a threat away from home, the Spaniard must be praised for equalising - his first away goal this season - although it looked like he meant it as a cross.
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Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Pedro - N/A Didn't have any impact on the game after coming off just seven minutes into the game due to an apparent hamstring injury - he was doubtful before the game and Guus Hiddink's gamble may have backfired
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Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Willian - 7 out of 10 Began the game in the middle, but was switched to the flank following Pedro's injury. The Brazilian showed a good work ethic - as ever - for the visitors and after a relatively quiet first half, the winger began to really stretch Southampton's defence in the second period. His runs were rewarded with an assist for Ivanovic's winner.
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Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Eden Hazard - 6 out of 10 Was switched from the left to the right following the entry of Oscar onto the pitch, and, despite initially failing to have the sort of impact that saw him light up Chelsea's attacking play like against Manchester City a week earlier, he got into the game as it went on and started the move that led to the equaliser.
Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings Diego Costa - 6 out of 10 The striker tried hard to get at Southampton's defence but ultimately failed as he showed a lack of awareness at times of his team-mates and some inaccurate passing. After volleying a great, although awkward, chance wide the Spain forward began to let his frustration get the better of him and was booked for tripping up Van Dijk. However, he re-focused his efforts and then set up Fabregas for the equaliser.
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Southampton vs Chelsea - player ratings From the bench: Kenedy - 7 out of 10 His introduction helped change the course of the game as he was much more willing to attack than Baba Rahman had been. Along with Hazard, the Brazilian helped overload the left-hand side. Defended more stoutly that Baba as well.
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"If the medical staff says (he can feature against Norwich on Tuesday) and John says so then I'll be careful because I have the experience in the past with these kind of injuries.
"Someone thinks 'I'm fine, I feel okay', but the demands of the game are a little bit different than, although it's heavy, training. I prefer to wait although everyone is knocking on the door, I prefer to wait especially in relation to the games coming up.
"I don't think (Terry will rush back in order to earn a new contract). We talked, I talked to him, I said 'Hey, let's take our time', not to rush things and nothing to do with the contractual situation.
"It's not long because normally for hamstring and tendon injuries they're, at least it depends on the grade of the seriousness of the injury, but normally it's longer than an ankle injury or whatever and I have the experience to wait, maybe even a game longer than everyone thinks."
Kurt Zouma, Radamel Falcao and Pedro are also definitely missing, but there is a chance Alexandre Pato could make his debut at Carrow Road.
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