John Terry apologises to Chelsea's fans after dismissal

Chelsea captain John Terry apologised to fans after the red card against Barcelona which rules him out of the Champions League final.

Terry was sent off for violent conduct after driving a knee into Barca's Alexis Sanchez off the ball.

Chelsea overcame Terry's loss to win 3-2 on aggregate and book a final date with Bayern Munich or Real Madrid.

"I feel I've let them (team-mates) down, I've apologised and I apologise to the fans," said Terry.

Terry was sent off in the 37th minute when the score was 1-0 to Barcelona on the night and 1-1 on aggregate.

Yet Roberto di Matteo's side regrouped to stage a dramatic fightback and reach the final for the second time in five seasons.

"It does look bad on the replay," Terry told Sky Sports. "I raised my knee but hopefully the people out there who know me, know I'm not that kind of player.

"At the time I was bewildered, but looking at the replay it looks a red card. On a personal note, of course (it hurts I miss the final). But we deserve to be in the Champions League final.

"I really hope that doesn't take away from this win."

Interim Chelsea head coach Di Matteo refused to condemn Terry for leaving his team a man down.

"He's fantastic leader of this group," said the Italian.

"He's the captain of our club. Everybody can make a mistake in life. We're just so happy that this group has managed to go to the final."

Asked if he was angry with his skipper, Di Matteo added: "No, I'm not. We're all human beings. We're under a lot of pressure as players."

Chelsea will also be without Ramires, Branislav Ivanovic and Raul Meireles for the final after the trio all picked up bookings at the Nou Camp.

In addition, Gary Cahill suffered a hamstring injury while David Luiz is still on the sidelines with a similar injury, leaving Chelsea without a fit experienced central defender.

Cahill left the field with a hamstring injury early in the first half, but remained hopeful he would recover before the final.

"To come off so early, I was absolutely devastated," he said.

"They [the medical team] tell me because it's so high up, it won't be as bad as first feared. I just pray the scan's all right."

Ramires and Meireles' absences means Di Matteo is lacking midfield options with Florent Malouda, Michael Essien and Salomon Kalou - three players who have struggled with either injuries or indifferent form - in line for a start.

However, Di Matteo refused to be drawn on the players Chelsea will be missing through suspension for the final.

"When it is the right time we will think about the final," he said.

Midfielder Jon Mikel Obi believes that Terry, as well as the yellow-carded trio, should have their suspensions overturned.

"Yes, the yellow cards should be cancelled going into a final and Uefa should look into that," said the 25-year-old.

"When you get to the final everyone wants to see the best players and it's a shame that JT, Ivanovic, Meireles and Ramires won't play.

"The JT one was soft from what I saw and it was a yellow card. I think Sanchez made the most of it."

Fifa changed their rules for the 2010 World Cup to allow an amnesty after the quarter-finals, wiping out previous yellow cards to ensure no player could miss the final through a booking at the semi-final stage.

If Uefa wished to do likewise, the Club Competitions Committee would have to propose such a rule change but it would not come in time for this year's final.