John Terry was very a lot the form of defender who was by no means afraid to place his physique on the road.
Throughout greater than 800 appearances for membership and nation in a profession which noticed him ranked at no.4 in FourFourTwo’s checklist of the 20 finest Premier League defenders of all-time, Terry’s bravery shone by way of time after time and he was lucky sufficient to endure only a few prolonged accidents.
However maybe certainly one of Terry’s scariest moments got here within the 2007 League Cup remaining, when his head collided with Abou Diaby’s boot on the hour mark of Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Arsenal.
Terry on his scary 2007 League Cup remaining damage
It rapidly turned clear Terry was in deep trouble and he was changed by Jon Obi Mikel, who was later despatched off in stoppage time alongside Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure in a bad-tempered climax – one which Terry himself doesn’t recall.
“That wasn’t my finest second!,” Terry remembers to FourFourTwo. “I keep in mind the nook and the ball dropping a number of yards from objective. My eyes lit up as a result of I believed I used to be about to attain.
“I received kicked and was instantly knocked unconscious. I used to be fortunate that Arsenal’s physio, Gary Lewin, occurred to be strolling across the pitch, a brief distance away. He knew me effectively from England.
“He got here flying onto the pitch, took my tongue out of my windpipe and mainly saved my life. With out his fast response, it might need been completely different.
“On the way in which to the hospital, in full equipment behind an ambulance, I had no concept the place I used to be. I needed to have a mind scan, however then I ignored medical recommendation and checked myself straight out as a result of we’d received the sport and I needed to rejoice with my team-mates.
“They reluctantly let me go – however, each time that occurs, they refuse to rearrange journey. So I wandered out, nonetheless in my equipment, to a taxi rank in Cardiff and requested for a elevate again to the stadium.
“God is aware of what the cabbie made from it. I used to be nonetheless fairly dizzy, however I went out that evening and had a mad one, celebrating with everybody. Then I went house and, I child you not, slept for nearly two days straight.
“The Chelsea physician came visiting me a few instances however in any other case I simply slept. It wasn’t a sensible transfer, I admit, nevertheless it was a loopy day.”
