Branislav Ivanovic admits John Terry's injury is a big blow to Chelsea.

Chelsea have now failed to win since captain Terry was ruled out with a knee injury that looks set to sideline him for a further six weeks.

Ivanovic, who played at right-back last night as David Luiz and Gary Cahill continued their fledgling centre-back partnership, said: "John Terry is one of the most important players for our team. This is a fact.

"He is captain of our club and I would like to see him come back soon, but if he is not able to play, we have to be strong and do everything to not make it feel like he is not here."

He added: "One of the qualities of John Terry is to show character, to show the right things during the difficult moments in the game.

"David and Gary are quite new to the team. They were playing only their third game together so they need time but they can be very good defensively.

"I don't want to protect or defend anybody, but all these things are about the team.

"When we were winning games and doing everything right, all the team were defending and attacking well.

"If we start thinking defenders are for defending and attackers are for scoring, it won't give us good results."