The star stopped briefly to sign an autograph as he and his Chelsea team-mates left their hotel in Accrington to head for a Premier League match at Burnley this evening.

Asked if he had any comment about allegations he had an extra-marital affair with French underwear model Vanessa Perroncel, the 29-year-old player said nothing.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued by his lawyer, Bridge said: "I have read the press reporting in the last two days. The reports deal with matters which are of a deeply personal and private nature.

"My primary concern is the welfare of my son. Therefore, I intend to make no comment whatsoever either now or in the future about these reports and ask that my privacy is respected."

Terry boarded the team coach at the country manor Dunkenhalgh hotel just outside Accrington.

Waiting photographers were moved by security staff to an adjacent field as the players made their way to Turf Moor.

Bridge, 29, a former team-mate of Terry's at Chelsea, now plays for Manchester City.

Perroncel was today discussing her next move with publicist Max Clifford, who said: "I think she really wants to read the papers, see what is said and decide from there."

Mr Clifford, who is on holiday in Spain, said she phoned him last night and he had agreed to take her as a client.

He said he plans to meet Perroncel tomorrow after he flies back to Britain.

Terry, 29, who was voted Dad of the Year last year in a Daddies Sauce survey, has two children with his wife Toni.

The allegations about his private life came to light after a gagging order was lifted by Mr Justice Tugendhat at the High Court in London yesterday.

An injunction, granted at a private hearing on January 22, had covered the alleged relationship between LNS - as Terry was referred to in court - and another woman, details about it, including certain specific consequences, information leading to their identification and any photographs.

In his anonymised judgment, which did not name the woman, Mr Justice Tugendhat said Terry accepted the truth of certain information covered by the order.

"I do not know whether or not LNS considers that those matters were acceptable for a person in LNS's position in life," he said.

He said the woman was also a "famous person" but not in the world of sport and not as famous as LNS, who had a number of high-profile sponsorship deals, including three very well-known brand names.

He said LNS wanted the court to consider the privacy rights of the woman and other interested individuals and had said that he had not told one of the interested persons about the relationship.

"That is not the same as saying that person does not know about it.

"I do not find it credible that rumours that have circulated as widely as the rumours in this case are said to have circulated have not yet reached the ears of at least the first interested person.

"If they have not yet got that far, they surely will do very soon."

The judge said that it was likely that the nub of LNS's complaint was the protection of reputation, and not of any other aspect of his private life.

He added: "Freedom to live as one chooses is one of the most valuable freedoms.

"But so is the freedom to criticise - within the limits of the law - the conduct of other members of society as being socially harmful, or wrong."

On Friday night, a Chelsea spokesman said: "This is a personal matter for John Terry.

"The club will give John and his family all the support they need in dealing with it."

The judge, who heard that News Group Newspapers - publisher of the News of the World - wanted to print a story about the footballer last Sunday, said: "I accept that the information sought to be protected is not in the public domain in the sense that there is nothing left to be protected."

Tom Crone, News of the World legal manager, said it welcomed Mr Justice Tugendhat's decision as "a long overdue breath of fresh air and common sense coming out of the privacy courts".

"Over recent years, there has been more prior restraint on freedom of speech in Britain than in any other democratic country in the world.

"Gagging orders like the one sought by John Terry have been granted to numerous other Premier League footballers and assorted celebrities."

Mr Crone said he hoped the newspaper's "victory" would lead to "a fundamental reassessment of our draconian privacy laws".

"The British public's right to know has been the victim of this legal process. Hopefully that will now change."

Despite the allegations, Terry is odds-on to keep the England captaincy, according to bookmaker Ladbrokes.

It today gave odds of 4/9 for him to be captain when England play Egypt in the pre-World Cup friendly at Wembley on March 3.