World Cup – England: Ben Chilwell withdraws from the World Cup

Hit in the hamstring during the Champions League match against Zagreb in midweek, Chelsea full-back Ben Chilwell announced on Saturday that he would not be “Not possible“to return for the World Cup in Qatar in two weeks.

“After my cruciate ligament injury (in November 2021), I fought so hard to be sure to come back for the World Cup. It has always been one of my dreams. Unfortunately, this will not be possible according to the results of my scan.“, wrote the player on his Twitter account. “I will do everything I can to play for Chelsea again as soon as possible“, he added.

A few minutes earlier, Chelsea had been very pessimistic but less categorical, indicating that “the defender is unfortunately expected to miss the World Cup“, in a statement. Chilwell had already missed much of last season with a cruciate ligament injury, returning to play for a minute on the final day of the Championship.

But he remained one of the certain starters for Qatar in an English defensive sector already most likely deprived of his teammate Reece James, who injured his knee in mid-October against AC Milan, in C1. England also fear packages from Kyle Walker, Manchester City’s full-back or central defender, and that of his teammate Kalvin Philipps, who had been so valuable in the midfield during the last Euro where the Three Lions had reached the final.