Ancelotti: Terry will decide on Dubai visit

London : Carlo Ancelotti insisted after Chelsea dropped two points in the title race by drawing 1-1 at Hull City on Tesday night that the furore surrounding Terry had not become a distraction for his team. But he left open the possibility of the defender flying to Dubai in 10 days' time and missing the FA Cup fifth-round tie against Cardiff City to visit his wife, Toni.

She is reportedly in Dubai considering whether to end the marriage following allegations that her husband had an affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the ex-girlfriend of the England left-back Wayne Bridge. Terry's position as England captain is in the balance because of the matter.

Ancelotti said: "This is an issue for me and John Terry; it's not your problem. You will see the line-up for Cardiff. If he needs to have a holiday I will give him a holiday. If he doesn't need a holiday he will play against Cardiff."

It is understood that Terry, who was booed by Hull fans whenever he touched the ball last night, does wish to make the trip but he is conscious that it is his manager's decision.

Terry should discover whether he will retain the England captaincy when meeting Capello on Friday. Ancelotti refused to reveal whether he has had a specific discussion with Terry regarding the matter.

Team focused

"No. I don't like to speak about this," he said. "This is not a question that I want to speak [about] here."

Despite what was an uneven performance from his team, which included his captain, Ancelotti denied the affair was affecting his players, who equalised through Didier Drogba shortly before halftime but wasted the chance to move four points clear of Manchester United at the top of the Premier League.

He said: "No, I don't think so because the atmosphere is the same, it's not changed. Nothing can disturb our concentration the Chelsea team is focused [for] every game. Sometimes we play good football and sometimes we have more difficulty but the concentration is always on top.

"For him [Terry] nothing changed he continues to play a very good game, every game he is living a very good moment, he is doing every game the best."

Chelsea's next game is with Arsenal. Ancelotti knows that if Manchester United can defeat Portsmouth, Sir Alex Ferguson's team will lead by a point which will place the emphasis on Chelsea to beat Arsenal.

— Guardian News and Media 2010