Terry can decide on return - Expert

John Terry can play for Chelsea and England whenever he feels ready, according to an expert in facial injuries.

Terry was forced off with a fractured cheekbone during the Blues' draw with Fulham at Stamford Bridge on Saturday following an aerial challenge with Clint Dempsey. But after undergoing surgery on Sunday to repair the damage to the bone, maxillofacial specialist Professor Peter Brennan insisted the timing of Terry's return is for the 26-year-old to decide.

"It is unstable and if you were to knock it again the chances are the bone would go back in and he would require another procedure," Brennan told Sky Sports News. "If he's willing to take that chance, there's no reason why he couldn't (play)."

Should Terry make an unexpectedly early return to action he would almost certainly have to play wearing a protective facemask, as modelled in previous years by the likes of Paul Gascoigne and Youri Djorkaeff.

And Brennan added: "If it's the cheekbone itself that usually has a lot more symptoms - you have some numbness of the face, eye movements can be affected, double vision."