Ferdinand winning fitness battle for Chelsea showdown

QPR's Anton Ferdinand (left) and Chelsea's John Terry (right). Photo credit: Anthony Devlin/PA wire

Wednesday, September 12, 2012
7:00 AM

Anton Ferdinand is expected to be fit for QPR’s highly-charged Barclays Premier League clash with Chelsea on Saturday.

Ferdinand suffered a shoulder injury in the 3-1 defeat by Manchester City on September 1 but trained today and is likely to feature in the west London derby.

With John Terry reportedly winning his battle with the ankle injury sustained on England duty against Moldova, the two defenders are on course to meet for the first time since the Chelsea captain’s race trial in July.

Terry was found not guilty of using a racial slur against Ferdinand in the corresponding fixture last October, but remains the subject of a Football Association investigation over the charges that he denies.

It is not yet known whether Ferdinand will shake Terry’s hand before kick-off at Loftus Road on Saturday.

In both matches since last October, the traditional pre-match hand-shake was abandoned in advance.