kidney stone and is a major doubt for Chelsea's FA
Cup semi-final, boss Antonio Conte has said, but
captain John Terry is unlikely to replace him.
England defender Cahill arrived at training on
Tuesday with a fever and was admitted to hospital
before being released two days later after
undergoing tests.
Chelsea are to meet Premier League title rivals
Tottenham at Wembley on Saturday and, while
Conte stated that Cahill's illness is not serious, the
Italian does not envisage him being fit to play.
"This period is not a lucky period for us," he told a
pre-match news conference.
"When we started to have training on Tuesday he
arrived at the training ground with a bit of a fever
and then we preferred our doctor to bring him in the
hospital and check his condition.
"It is not a serious problem, but now Gary is getting
better and improving a lot. If you asked me for
tomorrow [Saturday] my answer is very difficult,
very difficult.
Conte says Cahill was sent to hospital by
the doctor for checks. It is not a serious
problem but it will be difficult to play
tomorrow. #CFC
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 21,
2017
"Yes, [he had] a fever but then he had a problem,
but not a serious problem but the doctor preferred
him to be in the hospital and solve the problem."
With Cahill set to miss out, Chelsea have a void in
their three-man defence but Terry, who announced
last week that he is to leave the Blues after 19
years at the club, is not necessarily guaranteed to
come in.
"This is a semi-final and in the season we tried to
have in every position two options," Conte added.
"I think the right position for John when we play
with three centre-backs is in the centre and the
player playing there now is David Luiz.
"I have to make the best decision for the starting
11, we tried different solutions."
Conte says in every position he tries to
have two options. If Terry was to play, the
best position would be in the centre of
the three. #CFC
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 21,
2017
Conte can understand why so many fellow Premier
League managers have expressed their interest in
signing Terry, whose lengthy list of accolades
include four league titles and a Champions League
winner's medal.
"I'm not surprised about this. I am repeating in
every press conference that John, in my first
season, is very important, he's helping me on the
pitch and off the pitch," he said.
"For us he's a good captain and the problem is that
John wants to play regularly. For this reason, I
think that we have to respect his decision because
I was a footballer and I know when you arrive at
this point of your career, and your mind and body
told you continue, you feel you can continue and
can play regularly.
"We have to respect his decision. If you ask me
next season is it a serious loss, I think so."
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