John Terry Banned 4 Games: 3 Players Who Must Step Up in Meantime for Chelsea

The Football Association has found John Terry guilty of racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand, and the Chelsea captain has subsequently been banned for four games and fined £220,000.

This leaves Roberto Di Matteo painfully short of options in defense, and someone will have to step up in the meantime. But, who should it be?

Continue reading and find out.

David Luiz

David Luiz is the obvious choice.

You may not know it, but the Brazilian is not your typical center-back. He will venture forward and start attacks at almost every given opportunity, basically playing in a defensive-midfielder role. Needless to say, that will have to change.

Without the strong presence of Terry in the defense, the opposition offense will exploit the space left behind by Luiz, and cause problems for the other center-back and the goalkeeper.

Luiz will have to be up to his best and, more importantly, he will have to concentrate on his defensive duties.

Gary Cahill

Gary Cahill has seen his playing time somewhat limited since his switch to Chelsea and this will be a perfect opportunity for him to show his worth to the manager.

The 26-year-old will doubtlessly have to be up to the task in the next period.

Since Terry and Cahill share a similar style of play, the latter should be able to replace the Blues captain relatively easy. If he manages to do that, he will also impress Roberto Di Matteo in the next four games. Then the boss might even decide to give him a regular starting spot.

However, Cahill will probably retain his bit-part role after Terry returns from suspension.

Branislav Ivanovic

Perhaps a surprise inclusion on the list.

Although a right-back by definition, Ivanovic has already shown he's capable of playing in the heart of the defense in recent seasons.

Moving Ivanovic to the center will also finally give Cesar Azpilicueta a chance in the right-back position.

Ivanovic might lack pace and concentration at times, but he is a strong presence in the air and his tackling skills are nothing short of amazing—the Serbian defender seems like a perfect replacement for Terry. That is, If he can fulfill the expectations.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to check out my other articles:

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