Grant magnanimous in defeat

10:34am Monday 12th May 2008

Chelsea coach Avram Grant congratulated Sir Alex Ferguson on winning his 10th Premier League title and then revealed that captain John Terry has a chance of being fit for the Champions League final.

The Blues' title hopes were dashed by United's 2-0 win at Wigan and an injury-time equaliser from Matt Taylor as Bolton snatched a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

"First I want to congratulate Manchester United," said Grant. "They had a great season and I have sent a message to Alex Ferguson congratulating him. He is a great manager and a great person. I like him personally. I wished him all the best."

He added: "It is amazing what he has done. I remember at the start when he had problems so it is an amazing achievement."

At Stamford Bridge, substitute Andriy Shevchenko had given Chelsea hope with a 62nd-minute strike but the loss of Terry after 10 minutes with a dislocated elbow now threatens to torpedo their Champions League chances against United in Moscow next week.

"John did not break his elbow. But we need to wait and see," Grant said. "We will know if he is fit for the final in a few days.

"I don't want to see the day when John Terry is not confident of being fit. It is good news that he didn't break his elbow. He is strong enough to recover but we will wait and see.

"In 10 days we play the final so we will take a decision nearer the time. We need to see that he is fit to play.

"It is firstly the decision of the medical department to see if he can play or not but there is no need to rush, we have time."

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