Ben Chilwell has been ruled out for up to three months due to a hamstring injury, meaning that the Englishman’s dreams of making Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad have been shattered, Chelsea have confirmed.
“I’ve dreamed of playing in a World Cup literally since I can remember and to know it’s just around the corner is more motivation than you can know for me to try and seal that [left-back] spot down”, the defender revealed in the summer.
However, he suffered a hamstring injury in the dying moments of injury time as Chelsea defeated Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 in a Champions League group stage dead rubber, and left Stamford Bridge on crutches.
Chilwell injured at the end of Chelsea’s win over Dinamo Zagreb pic.twitter.com/BFQLZVGLXL
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) November 2, 2022
And Chelsea have since revealed that the defender picked up a ‘significant’ injury that is set to rule him out of contention for the World Cup, which begins in just over two weeks.
“Following the injury sustained in our recent game against Dinamo Zagreb, Ben has undergone a scan on his hamstring”, the club confirmed.
“Results show that Ben has suffered a significant injury and the defender is unfortunately expected to miss the World Cup.
Meanwhile, it could be worse yet for the Blues as the Telegraph add that “it is not thought Chilwell needs surgery, but the left-back is now facing a period of rehabilitation that could last as long as three months.”
It means that both of Chelsea’s first-choice defenders could be absent for the Three Lions this winter, with Reece James in a race to return to full fitness ahead of England’s opener against Iran.
And it leaves Southgate short of options, with only Ryan Sessengnon and James Justin as potential alternatives in the 55 man provisional squad, although Kieran Trippier and Bukayo Saka are both in-house solutions to deputise for Luke Shaw.
