Ben Chilwell injury concerning ahead of England’s World Cup campaign, admits Chelsea boss Graham Potter | Football News

November 2, 2022 admin

Ben Chilwell’s injury is a concern with less than three weeks until England’s World Cup campaign begins, says Chelsea head coach Graham Potter.

Chilwell pulled up with an apparent hamstring problem in Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Wednesday night and was helped off the pitch by two people.

England’s first World Cup match is against Iran on November 21 and manager Gareth Southgate has a deadline of November 14 to name his 26-man squad, leaving Chilwell in a precarious position.

Asked if the tournament in Qatar was now a concern for Chilwell, Chelsea boss Potter said: “You’d have to say so, yeah. I don’t want to add any more than that, but when a player pulls up like he did and felt it, it’s never positive.

“It’s a blow for us, on an otherwise positive evening. To see him pull up like that is not a great sight, fingers crossed when we get it scanned it won’t be as severe, but fingers crossed on that at the moment.

“I spoke to him briefly, he just felt something as he was setting off. He’s disappointed and upset.”

Chilwell appeared to pull his hamstring chasing a ball in stoppage time and though he got to his feet and played the final seconds of the match.

The England defender had to be carried across to the tunnel at the full-time whistle.