John Terry said Monday he has no memory of the sickening head injury that saw him carried off on a stretcher during Chelsea’s 2-1 League Cup Final win against London rivals Arsenal.

The Chelsea and England captain was knocked unconscious and began to swallow his tongue Sunday after being accidentally kicked in the head in the 57th minute as he tried to head towards goal.

He was stretchered off wearing an oxygen mask after several minutes of on-field treatment with both players and fans at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium fearing the worst for the centre-back.

But despite worries of a fatal blow, Terry was back at the ground within two hours of being discharged from a nearby hospital.

However, he had no recollection of his injury.

“I said to he lads I don’t remember,” Terry told Chelsea TV on Monday. “I remember walking out for the second half and nothing else until waking up in the ambulance on the way to hospital.

“I had the scans and they said it’s okay. I’m still feeling a bit groggy, though.”

He added: “It was great to be back with the lads, they were different class. I must say thanks to them as I didn’t have much part to play in the second half. Throughout the competition they’ve been spot on.”

It will now be up to the Chelsea doctor to decide if Terry can play in the reigning Premiership champions’ league match away to Portsmouth on Saturday

There was a suggestion that he would miss the match at Fratton Park because of a Football Association (FA) regulation governing players who’d been concussed.

However, the FA said in a statement Monday: “Following John Terry’s injury in yesterday’s League Cup Final, the FA can clarify that the rules on head injuries do not set down an automatic rest period for players suffering from concussion, but rather stipulate that each injury must be assessed individually by a doctor.”

It added: “The brain’s response to the injury determines the time of return and playing and must be clinically assessed by the club medical officer or a specialist neurosurgeon/neurologist.

“The clinical rule is that no player should return to training or playing until symptom-free and sign-free at rest and on provocation.”

Terry had only been declared fit to play against Arsenal after making a quicker than expected recovery from an ankle injury he had suffered against Porto in Wednesday’s Champions League draw.

Source:Soccer News