Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti insists he was always going to rest John Terry for today's FA Cup tie with Cardiff City.

Terry misses Saturday's FA Cup clash with Cardiff after being given time off to travel to Dubai in an attempt to patch up his marriage with wife Toni.

But Ancelotti claimed that Terry's absence against Cardiff is simply a case of him wanting to give his skipper a rest while Nicolas Anelka and Petr Cech have also been given the weekend off.

"Why wouldn't he be in Dubai?" questioned the Italian. "I could have given him two or three days of recovery anyway. He's played every game. We did the same with Nicolas now - he'll have two days off. I don't know if he'll go to Dubai or to France."