Fabio Capello will follow in the footsteps of many of his predecessors when he flies into London to be presented as England’s new manager today and is greeted by an injured captain. John Terry suffered ankle ligament damage under a challenge from Emmanuel Eboué during Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat by Arsenal yesterday and will be out for several weeks.

Terry will hope to have recovered in time to play in Capello’s first match in charge against Switzerland at Wembley on February 6, although his latest injury will deal a severe blow to his side’s title aspirations. Chelsea could be hit further in the likely event of Ashley Cole being charged by the Football Association after photographs showed him flicking a V-sign at the home fans as he left the pitch after his first return to Arsenal.

Avram Grant, the Chelsea first-team coach, was more concerned with losing his captain for the critical Christmas period and was unhappy that Eboué was not sent off. “I don’t think he’s broken anything, but we’ll know tomorrow,” Grant said. “I need to see it, but people who saw it on TV said it was a red card.”

Arsenal’s win, secured by a goal from William Gallas against his former club, took them back to the top of the Barclays Premier League — after Manchester United had beaten Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield — and opened a six-point gap on Chelsea, but Arsène Wenger thinks all four clubs can still win the championship.

“The other two are still involved, but maybe Liverpool had the biggest disappointment of the day as they played at home,” the Arsenal manager said. “We’re confident we can win the title. The belief is there, but I prefer it remains a four-horse race as it makes it more interesting.”

United had briefly reclaimed top spot from Arsenal after a hard-fought 1-0 win away to Liverpool, with Carlos Tévez securing a fifth victory in their past six league visits to Anfield. The match was watched on television by Capello, who said that he will try to talk players such as Jamie Carragher, the Liverpool defender, and Paul Scholes, the United midfield player, out of international retirement.

If the result came as a severe blow to Rafael Benítez as he headed into a post-match meeting with Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, Liverpool’s American owners — from which he emerged five hours after the final whistle with the outcome described as “positive” — it left Sir Alex Ferguson in bullish mood over his side’s prospects of retaining the title. “I’ve always said that if we stay up at the top of the table through December to the first of January, we will have an outstanding chance,” the United manager said.

The FA and Merseyside Police are likely to investigate an incident in which a missile, thought to be a golf ball, was thrown by a spectator at Wayne Rooney, the United forward, during the game. Merseyside Police were said to be aware of the incident, as was Mark Halsey, the referee, who may refer it to the FA.