Cardiff City striker Michael Chopra wants John Terry in Chelsea's team for next week's FA Cup tie.
There has been some talk that Carlo Ancelotti will rest his troubled centre-back for the game.
Chopra admitted: "I hope John plays. You want to play against the best players to test yourself. I don't think what's happened off the pitch has affected him or the Chelsea team. The big players are always mentally strong."
And the striker said he felt sorry for Terry over recent revelations.
Chopra said: "I'm not saying what John has done is right, but things do tend to get blown out of proportion. I guarantee there is someone doing the same thing every single day but nobody says anything about it.
"But as we are footballers and get well paid, people like to think we're a different breed. It's not easy being in the public eye."