Graham Potter is concerned about some Chelsea players' World Cup chances amid the recent injury problems at the club.
The injury list at Stamford Bridge was added to on Wednesday night when Ben Chilwell pulled up against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.
Chelsea were leading 2-1 in their final Group E game in Europe and everything was running smoothly, but the left-back suffered from a late hamstring injury that forced him off.
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With the World Cup just over two weeks away from starting, the injury was a devastating one for Chilwell.
After battling back from an ACL injury last season that he picked up against Juventus, he was in line for a call up to the England squad for Qatar.
Gareth Southgate is set to announce the 26-man travelling team sometime next week.
It now looks highly doubtful that the 25-year-old will be going, he joins a growing list of players at Chelsea who look like they won’t be going to the World Cup.
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Following the game, Potter spoke about how big of a blow it is for the defender who’s minutes had been on the rise.
He said: “It’s a blow for us on an otherwise positive evening. To see him pull up like that, it’s not a great sight. So fingers crossed when we get it scanned it isn’t too bad.
“It can be not as severe but we have to cross our fingers at the moment. But clearly, we’re disappointed.”
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Reece James, Wesley Fofana and N’Golo Kante are some of the names that have been out of the squad for a while.
Hopefully Chilwell’s injury will not be as bad as some of his teammates, but the first impression is that it didn’t look good.
It has been a busy month for Chelsea, they’ve had to play nine games, four in Europe and five in the Premier League.
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Before the World Cup begins on November 20, the west London side have another three games to contend with - Arsenal, Manchester City and Newcastle United.
The injury to Chilwell highlights just how tricky of a spot Potter is in when it comes to managing the players game time.
When asked about whether the World Cup becomes a concern now for the defender, Potter responded: “I think you’d have to say so, yes. I don’t want to add any more than that but when a player pulls up like he did after he felt it, it’s never positive.”
Topics: Graham Potter, Chelsea, Football World Cup, Football
Sam Collins