Should it be confirmed the centre-half has, as reported, damaged knee ligaments, then the Blues, and indeed England, will have to face up to life without their own inspirational leader for up to a month, or perhaps even longer.

Given how Jose Mourinho's men struggled to find the consistency needed for a title challenge when without the England captain last season, you can see the significance of lightning striking twice - and this time before a ball has even been kicked in anger.

United - eventual winners on penalties - opened the last campaign like a team possessed.

Sir Alex Ferguson's men set a blistering pace which hardly dropped and one which ultimately proved too much to handle for the pretenders to their title.

Mourinho knows full well the importance of a strong start this time around.

However, with a crunch trip to Liverpool on the second weekend of the season followed by dates with Portsmouth, at Aston Villa and hosting Blackburn, there can be little margin for error.

Indeed, drop too many points and by the time Chelsea head to Old Trafford for their showdown on September 22, the harbingers of doom will already be declaring the title race over bar the shouting.

There is, of course, plenty of football - full of twists and turns, controversy, claim, counter-claim, denial and unquestionably some sort of farce - to come between now and when one side will hold aloft the Premier League trophy in May.

The reality, however, is that Chelsea look to start their quest for domestic and European glory without the man many feel integral to their chances of fulfilling those dreams.

Once the clamour had subsided following the arrival of the team-sheets - which saw others conspicuous by their absence such as Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, Andrei Shevchenko and Real Madrid target Arjen Robben, not even on the bench - then attentions could be turned, at last, to a football match.

The scene was certainly set for a classic encounter.

The new Wembley was backed in sunshine and a vocal ensemble sang a rousing rendition of God Save The Queen, which would have made Il Divo proud.

It was not so much a sea of blue in the Chelsea half of the stadium - rather one spotted with florescent yellow away shirts which stood out more than the orange-jacketed stewards around the perimeter.

While football fashion clearly changes by the season, the reception which greeted 2007 Footballer of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo was just the same as ever - heartily cheered by the United faithful, and roundly booed at the other end every time he touched the ball.

As with Chelsea, this was not the first-choice side of the champions.

Summer signings Owen Hargreaves, Anderson were not included, while soon-to-be Red Devil Carlos Tevez is also set to bolster the options for Ferguson.

Another Portuguese talent Luis Nani was on the bench, ready to showcase his talents should the opportunity arise.

It was, though, Chelsea who enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges, Shaun Wright-Phillips reminding everyone of just what he can do down the right flank.

United striker Wayne Rooney re-acquainted himself with Chelsea new-boy Tal Ben Haim, and would later earn a caution for sliding in on Chelsea keeper Petr Cech when his intentions looked to have been giving the former Bolton defender a reminder he was there.

The match certainly had anything but a pre-season feel to it, and there was no love lost between the fiercely competitive set of players, with Chelsea holding bragging rights following their FA Cup win here four months ago.

Fittingly, both goals were of the quality to grace such an occasion.

United drew first blood, with Ryan Giggs - a veteran of such matches at 33, but not on the Wembley scoresheet since his England schoolboys days - sweeping the ball into the roof of the net following a cutback by Patrice Evra.

On the stroke of half-time, however, Chelsea fans got their first glimpse of why Florent Malouda may just be worth the £14.5million paid to Lyon as he latched on to a chip through from man of the match Ashley Cole, shrugged off Rio Ferdinand and stabbed the ball past Edwin van der Sar - getting clattered by the Dutch keeper for his troubles.

It was, though, perhaps too much to expect the second half to deliver the same standard, with decent chances few and far between, with most of the pitch now shaded following what had been temperatures in excess of 30 Degrees.

In the end it was United who emerged triumphant, with Van der Sar having remarkably saved Chelsea's opening three spot kicks before Rooney calmly slotted in the winner.

The final result today will probably count for little during the battles which lie ahead over the next nine months.

Terry was on hand to console with his team-mates following the shoot-out.

Chelsea will be praying his absence - however brief - does not ultimately prove too costly.