Beaten finalists hit by flight delay

CHELSEA face a jet-lagged 48-hour turnaround before their Capital One Cup quarter-final at Leeds after Tokyo airport officials grounded their flight home from the Club World Cup until today.

The Blues had planned to return to London immediately after the world-title showdown with Corinthians yesterday but that was vetoed due to late-night take-off restrictions in Tokyo.

It means they will not arrive in the UK until this afternoon, leaving interim manager Rafael Benitez with a major selection headache for Wednesday’s trip to Elland Road.

His squad are bound to be affected by the nine-hour time difference, as they were after last Saturday’s flight out to Japan.

Captain John Terry is still not fit enough to provide some fresh legs against Leeds after remaining in London to nurse his knee injury, while Gary Cahill is expected to be suspended for the match following his red card in yesterday’s final defeat.