England are currently gearing up for the highly-anticipated FIFA World Cup, set to kick off this November in Qatar. However, the European giants have been rocked with another injury blow as Southgate will be without an additional talented player.
That man is none other than Ben Chilwell, the Chelsea ace who picked up a worrying injury during his club's recent UEFA Champions League outing. The London giants took on Dinamo Zagreb in their final match of the group stage and despite having already won the group, Potter opted to start the former Leicester talent.
And sadly for the Englishman, his day ended in a nightmare as he picked up a hamstring injury and was seen in crutches after the final whistle. As a result, everyone came to the conclusion that Chilwell will miss the FIFA World Cup, and on Saturday, the Blues confirmed this horrible news.
"Following the injury sustained in our recent game against Dinamo Zagreb, Ben has undergone a scan on his hamstring," Chelsea's official statement read.
"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 program with the club's medical department."
The Three Lions ace also took to social media to issue a gutting message, expressing the heartbreak of missing out on Qatar 2022 after working his way back to fitness from his serious ACL injury just under a year ago.
"Following my ACL injury, I worked so hard to make sure I was ready for the World Cup. It has always been a dream of mine. Unfortunately, this won't be possible following my scan results. I'll do all I can to get back to playing for Chelsea ASAP. Thanks for the messages of support," the 25-year-old wrote on Twitter.
Following my ACL injury I worked so hard to make sure I was ready for the World Cup. It has always been a dream of mine. Unfortunately, this won't be possible following my scan results. I'll do all I can to get back playing for Chelsea ASAP. Thanks for the messages of support pic.twitter.com/2H01Whhfhn
— Ben Chilwell (@BenChilwell) November 5, 2022
Chilwell appeared destined to make the squad and was set to compete with Manchester United ace Luke Shaw for the left-back spot in Southgate's lineup. However, Gareth will have to make do without another talented defender.
The Three Lions boss is already without Chelsea sensation Reece James, who despite his determination to recover in time, appears destined to miss the tournament as well. Additionally, Manchester City duo Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips are also on the sidelines and face a race against the clock to be fit for Qatar 2022.
Bukayo Saka, Arsenal's in-form winger, has been deployed as a left-back by Southgate and could be used as a rotational option for Shaw despite his quality in attack. Additionally, Kieran Trippier is versatile, meaning the Newcastle right-back is capable of deputizing on the left.
The deadline for announcing the final FIFA World Cup squad is November 13, meaning Gareth has a week to come up with a solution to this latest problem. Chelsea, meanwhile, must carry on without another one of their full-backs and will likely deploy Marc Cucurella in that position, starting with Sunday's highly-anticipated showdown with Premier League leaders Arsenal.
