LONDON, Oct 19: Chelsea captain John Terry will be out of action for up to three weeks after undergoing knee surgery on Friday. Terry had delayed the operation so he could play in England’s Euro 2008 qualifier against Russia, but the defender aggravated the problem in training before the match in Moscow.

Chelsea have also confirmed that left-back Ashley Cole will be out for around four weeks after injuring his ankle during England’s win over Estonia last Saturday.

It is the worst possible preparation for Blues boss Avram Grant ahead of Saturday’s match at Middlesbrough, but the Israeli is confident he has a big enough squad to cope.

Tal Ben Haim or Alex will deputise for Terry and Grant said: “JT had an operation today and will be out for two or three weeks. Cole and (Salomon) Kalou) are also injured.

“John tried his best to be available for the national team and then in the last moment of training he got injured again.

“He needed the operation today and I hope everything will be well. We have a big squad and we need to handle this situation.”—AFP