• Midfielder Mikel missed seven weeks with a calf injury
• Villas-Boas targets Champions League and FA Cup success

Chelsea received a boost on Tuesday ahead of their Premier League game at Everton when Mikel John Obi returned to full training after seven weeks on the sidelines.

The Nigeria international has been out since injuring a hamstring in the 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur in December, but was back with the rest of the squad ahead of the trip to Goodison Park on Saturday.

His fellow midfielder Frank Lampard is

• John Terry’s club and country managers back defender
• Fabio Capello may wait to name new permanent captain

Fabio Capello is sure that John Terry will not retire from international football despite being stripped of the England captaincy by the Football Association. The head coach may also appoint a temporary captain for England’s next game, the friendly against Holland later this month, before deciding on a long-term replacement, with Glen Johnson, Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry among those in line behind the Italian’s current favourite, Steven Gerrard.

After Terry was stood down from the captaincy by the FA on Friday morning, the prospect was raised of the Chelsea captain walking away from international football completely. But Capello is confident that this would be anathema to Terry, believing that he will wish to continue playing for England despite now having lost the armband twice.

Terry was removed from the role by the Italian in February 2010 due to revelations about his personal life. The head coach has drawn on how Terry played on after that incident as well as his knowledge of the defender’s resolute attitude to conclude that Terry will not quit.

Regarding his replacement the vice-captain Gerrard is the natural successor and provided he stays fit and continues to play regularly for Liverpool after a prolonged injury lay-off the midfielder should lead England against Holland on 29 February.

Capello also has Barry and Lampard in mind, though he is conscious that the latter is no longer a regular starter for Chelsea, and neither he nor the Manchester City midfielder are automatic choices since Scott Parker’s emergence. However, the Italian still admires both players and with Wayne Rooney banned from the first two matches of Euro 2012, and with a three-month gap until England’s next match after the Dutch friendly, against Norway in Oslo, Capello may wait until then to assess fitness and form regarding before deciding who will lead England in Ukraine and Poland.

While Parker and Johnson also have outside chances of being made captain, Capello is yet to speak publicly about the removal of Terry and the fact that the decision was taken over his head by the 12-member FA Council. He may well do so before England next meet up in around three weeks to clear the air ahead of the Holland friendly though if Terry does play on the issue of team unity is bound to linger.

Rio Ferdinand, Anton’s older brother, spoke for the first time since Terry lost the captaincy on Saturday stating that he was unconcerned whether the Chelsea defender played or not in Sunday’smatch against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.

There had been speculation over whether Ferdinand would shake his fellow England centre-half’s hand now Terry has been charged of making a racial slur at Anton, a charge he will deny at Westminster magistrates’ court on 9 July. But a knee injury has ruled Terry out of the game and Ferdinand said: “I couldn’t care less if he played or not. I just think about playing for Manchester United and winning the game. I let the media talk about it, go on about it and create the storm. We are footballers. That is where we are best. That is where we enjoy being. The result and the performance of our team against theirs was definitely the most important thing for me.”

Of the furore’s effect on his brother, Ferdinand said: “Anton is my little brother. We have grown up together and I have looked after him when we were kids. If something is going to affect him and hurt him, I am always there as a shoulder to lean on. In moments like this, when things are so public and you can’t really say anything, it can be frustrating.

“For my family, yes, it has been tough. My brother has not brought any accusations to anyone. He is not the accused. But he has had to sit there and take abuse from some small-minded people, which has been very disappointing.”

Meanwhile, André Villas-Boas suggested that Terry’s capacity apparently to thrive on adversity has in a perverse way suited Chelsea, and the manager sees no reason why the same would not apply to England, should Capello continue to select the centre-back. “For us, we benefit,” the Portuguese said. “Hopefully for his country it will continue to be the same. I’m not saying it fuels him, that he needs negativity, but he has been outstanding.”

John TerryFabio CapelloEnglandChelseaJamie Jackson
guardian.co.uk

• Torres is confident, says manager ahead of visit to Swansea
• Striker’s last league goal came against same opposition

André Villas-Boas is confident Fernando Torres will eventually be rewarded for his encouraging recent displays and return to goalscoring form, with the Spain international seeking his first goal in the Premier League in over four months at Swansea City tomorrow.

Torres marks a year as a Chelsea player tomorrow nightfollowing his British record £50m transfer from Liverpool having mustered only three league goals in 31 appearances in that time. The last of those came against Swansea in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge on 24 September, a game which also saw the 27-year-old sent off, incurring a three-match ban which served to set back his early-season improvement.

There have been 11 scoreless league games since, although Torres has earned praise from his manager for his industry and selfless team-work, particularly during the absence of Didier Drogba at the Africa Cup of Nations. The World Cup and European Championship winner has been devoid of fortune in recent weeks, striking the bar against Sunderland, though Villas-Boas believes that luck will soon turn.

“I think we are seeing a player growing in terms of form,” said the Portuguese. “Eventually, we expect goals from it, and we hope those goals will come back. At the moment, the reality is that he has not scored [in four months], but he has been helping the team. Fernando has, equally, the most number of assists of any other players in the club, so he is producing for others as well. I think he is confident, to be fair. For the kind of effort he is putting in, eventually he will be repaid.”

The striker was more peripheral in the FA Cup fourth-round victory at Queens Park Rangers on Saturday when, not for the first time, he was denied the ball in areas where once he would have threatened. “In the first half, we were a little one-paced in possession,” said Villas-Boas. “He touched the ball, but not in the right areas. In the second half he was much more involved in the game, coming short and laying off the ball, giving good movement and being much more involved.”

Chelsea will hope to tap into his qualities more readily on their first visit to the Liberty Stadium for a fixture in which their young midfielder, Josh McEachran, is ineligible for Swansea following his loan switch until the end of the season. Regardless, the 18-year-old’s parent club is confident the player will break into the first team in Wales over the months ahead.

McEachran has started only one Premier League game to date for Chelsea, the penultimate game of last season against Newcastle, but started for City in the FA Cup fourth-round defeat at Bolton on Saturday and, having worked with Brendan Rodgers when he was reserve-team manager at Stamford Bridge, is expected to make an impact.

“Every player feels the need for more playing time,” added Villas-Boas. “He has moved to Swansea and now he has to play there. Brendan, in the end, makes the best decisions for his team, and I hope Josh will triumph in that environment. To do that, when he faces maximum competition, would be beneficial for the player. Difficult, but much more beneficial. We will use our scouts and try to be present every time he plays and watch how he progresses.”

ChelseaFernando TorresAndré Villas-BoasDominic Fifield
guardian.co.uk