Keeper feared Terry was dead

Manuel Almunia feared John Terry was dead after his Carling Cup final injury.

The Chelsea skipper was flattened by an accidental boot to the face from Abou Diaby as he attempted to attack a corner, and was rushed to hospital after lying unconscious on the Millennium Stadium turf.

Terry's injury caused widespread panic amongst both sets of players as they beckoned for immediate medical attention, and Arsenal physio Gary Lewin was first on the scene to attend to the stricken defender.

Fortunately the England captain recovered sufficiently to discharge himself from hospital before returning to Cardiff to join in The Blues' celebrations after their 2-1 victory.

The frightening incident was played out adjacent to Almunia, and the Spaniard admits he immediately feared the worst when Terry was poleaxed.

"I was really scared," Almunia told the club's official website.

"When I saw him at first his eyes had rolled the other way and he looked like he was dead. I was very scared."

The last English Cup final to be held in Cardiff was sullied by a late brawl, and Arsenal and Chelsea are both bracing themselves for possible FA action when the governing body makes a ruling on the incident on Tuesday.

However Almunia has played down the incident as merely being a result of Arsenal's frustration at missing out on a trophy - a situation they hope to correct in the FA Cup.

"That's normal in big players," Almunia added. "They want to win all the games and all the competitions.

"We had the cup in our hands but in the last moment we lost and I think that made us frustrated.

"Now we have to try to get to the FA Cup final. That's a really big competition for us now and, of course, we will try to win it."