Grant: Terry to miss Carling Cup final

Avram Grant appears to have ruled captain John Terry out of the Carling Cup final with Tottenham later this month even though the England international is back in training.

Terry insists he will be back to full fitness from his fractured foot in the next fortnight but the Chelsea coach, who watched his side stutter to a goalless draw with Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, thinks the game against Spurs will arrive too soon for his inspirational leader.

"It is very good news about John Terry," said Grant. "He has trained sooner than we thought. He will be fit in around three weeks. I think it will be too soon (for the Carling Cup final) but we will see. He wants to do everything to be as fit as soon as possible."

While Grant was boosted by Terry's return to the training ground, he was less than impressed with his side's failure to overcome a stubborn Liverpool.

But that did not stop Grant dismissing Liverpool's title hopes. The Reds are 16 points behind leaders Arsenal and Grant insists the gap is now too wide for Rafa Benitez's team.

Grant declared: "I think after this game, it will be very difficult for them to fight for the title. They are too many points from the first team."

Grant was adamant that referee Mike Riley made a mistake when he failed to award Chelsea a penalty for Javier Mascherano's challenge on Joe Cole in the first half.

But Michael Ballack's glaring miss 10 minutes from time also played a part in Chelsea's inability to end the stalemate.

Grant added: "We are not happy. We want to win every game but especially at home. If we don't win we are disappointed."