Chelsea and England captain John Terry has started light training a day after undergoing surgery on his injured back and could return to action sooner than expected, the club said on Friday.

The defender has missed four games, including the 2-2 home draw with Reading on Tuesday which allowed Manchester United to extend their lead over the champions to four points.

"We still need to monitor John and see how we go but 24-48 hours after surgery there are 'no restrictions' to getting back," club doctor Bryan English told Chelsea TV.

"I won't be drawn into what game he will be back but I am sure it will lead people to draw their own conclusions."

British media had speculated the 26-year-old Terry would be out for a further six weeks after he went to France for surgery.

"When I hear so-called experts say he is going to have a six-week recovery, I won't say exactly how long he is going to take to recover, but when people comment when they don't know his pathology...then I have a bit of a problem with that," English added.

Second-placed Chelsea entertain neighbours Fulham on Saturday.