Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell is expected to miss the World Cup with England after the club confirmed that the hamstring injury he suffered against Dinamo Zagreb is ‘significant’.
Chilwell has not played for England since November 2021 because of an ACL injury that ruled him out of the second half of last season. But the defender has returned to action for Chelsea in recent months and was at least on the bench when the Three Lions played Germany in September.
The former Leicester was part of Gareth Southgate’s 55-player preliminary squad and his form for Chelsea made him a strong option to go to Qatar, where final squads are expanded to 26 players.
However, Chilwell picked up an injury in midweek that comes as a huge blow to him, but also Chelsea in the longer term as well.
A statement from the club on Saturday morning read, “Following the injury sustained in our recent game against Dinamo Zagreb, Ben has undergone a scan on his hamstring.
“Results show that Ben has suffered a significant injury and the defender is unfortunately expected to miss the World Cup. Ben will now begin a rehabilitation programme with the club’s medical department.”
A report from the Daily Telegraph has suggested that although Chilwell is not expected to require surgery, he could be sidelined for three months during the recovery process.
England are already sweating on the availability of Chelsea defender Reece James, who could yet be selected for the squad if he can be fit in time for the knockout rounds – even if that potentially means being absent while the group stage is on.
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