Conte: Terry’s potential England return not my concern

Antonio Conte insists only John Terry and Sam Allardyce can decide whether the Chelsea captain should end his self-imposed England exile.
Terry retired from international football in 2012 but Allardyce, who names his first England squad on Sunday, has indicted he may speak with the 35-year-old defender over the possibility of a return.
“I’m a former international team coach so I know this situation and prefer it to be solved between Sam Allardyce and John Terry. That’s the right way,” former Italy boss Conte said.
“John Terry has a great attitude during training and is working very hard. I’m very happy with his commitment.
“But for the international team, it is important for it to be solved between Sam Allardyce and John Terry.”
Conte was speaking after a 3-2 victory over Bristol Rovers at Stamford Bridge that booked Chelsea’s passage into the third round of the EFL Cup.
Ola Aina limped off in the second half and was replaced by Terry and Conte, who is hoping to sign another defender before the transfer window closes, is concerned that his resources could be stretched ahead of Saturday’s clash with Burnley.
“I hope the injury to Aina is not serious because if it is we will only have four defenders for Burnley. I’m a bit worried,” Conte said.
“I’d rather speak with the club about transfers and we stay in contact every day. We are trying to find the right solution to improve this team. It’s right to pay the player in the right way.”
Michy Batshuayi, a £33million summer signing from Marseille, struck twice in a tense victory over Sky Bet League One Rovers.
“We knew that we would have to work very hard. I knew the atmosphere around this cup and could tell this game would be very hard,” Conte said.
“It’s a pity because we were dominating this game and then we suffered. We created a lot of chances in the first half to score many goals.
“I don’t like when you concede two goals at a free-kick and a penalty. When you have the opportunity to kill the game, you must kill the game.
“We must improve at crosses and feel the danger in every circumstance. In England a corner or free-kick can be a great chance to concede a goal.”
Rovers boss Darrell Clarke was proud of his underdogs.
“It’s a compliment that Chelsea played a strong side and rightly so – they’re not in Europe,” Clarke said.
“We rode our luck at times but we had a right good go and Chelsea brought on some of their big hitters, but they’re a fantastic team and deserved to win.”