Punch 'was so hard it broke player's hand'

A professional footballer punched a nightclub bouncer in the face so hard he broke a bone in his hand, a court was told yesterday.

John Terry, 21, who plays for the Premiership side Chelsea, sustained what doctors call a "boxer's fracture" near the knuckles of his right hand when he hitTrevor Thirlwall, the club's medical officer said.

The former England Under-21 captain's hand was examined by Dr Neil Fraser the day after the alleged attack on Mr Thirlwall, 28, at the members- only Wellington nightclub in Knightsbridge, central London, on 4 January. Dr Fraser told a jury at Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court in London: "The injury suggested he had broken that bone having put some degree of force through it. He had an X-ray and it was confirmed he had a fracture – in the medical textbooks it's referred to as a boxer's fracture."

The Chelsea player was on a night out in January this year with his team-mate Jody Morris, 23, and Wimbledon's Des Byrne, 22, when the fighting broke out.

Mr Terry, who was wearing a ring on that hand, has admitted hitting Mr Thirlwall once, but claims it was self-defence. Mr Thirlwall says the player attacked him with a bottle and has told how he felt his eye "explode in blood".

On the 11th day of the trial Mr Morris became the third of the players to give evidence. He denied attacking anyone, claiming he was too small to have done so.

The 5ft 5in star had been accused of swearing at the club manageress, Sasha Keegan, and had been asked to leave, the court was told.

Mr Morris denied swearing at the manageress and said he was talking reasonably with Mr Thirlwall and another bouncer, Shaun Brice, in reception when the violence started. The player said: "Even before anything spilt out on to the pavement I wasn't about to do anything – the size of me compared to them I wouldn't be able to do anything."

He told the jury the fighting started with Mr Thirlwall throwing a punch at Dublin-born Mr Byrne and saying to him: "F*** off, you Irish prick."

In his closing remarks to the jury, Jeremy Donne, prosecuting, claimed the players had invented the racist remark during the trial to justify their actions and asked the jury to avoid "red herrings". He said: "A very clear thread runs through this case, the thread of the aggression of these three men from first to last."

Mr Morris denied being drunk in the club, saying he had one or two pints of lager, one vodka, lime and lemonade and one B52 cocktail all evening. He also denied telling police: "I don't know what you're on about," when officers asked him if there had been a fight.

The court was read a statement from Mr Terry's club captain, Graeme Le Saux, capped 36 times for England, who said the central defender would probably have been picked for England's World Cup squad earlier this year if he had not been facing a trial.

Mr Le Saux added: "He behaves politely and I consider him to be of a gentle disposition. I was shocked at the allegations against John and, if true, they would be genuinely out of character – I have never seen him behave aggressively or violently to anyone."

Mr Terry denies wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and possessing a bottle as an offensive weapon. Mr Byrne denies possessing a bottle as an offensive weapon and all three players deny affray. The trial continues.