Saturday, November 5, 2022 at 4:16 PM• Sam Vreeswijk

Ben Chilwell has had to withdraw from the World Cup in Qatar due to an injury. The 25-year-old defender of Chelsea last Wednesday in the Champions League match against Dinamo Zagreb (2-1 win) injured his hamstring. Scans have shown that the injury is so serious that Chilwell will not be fit in time to participate in the World Cup.

Chelsea have not announced how long Chilwell will be out of circulation, but the left-back has already confirmed on Instagram that he will not be there in Qatar. “After my cruciate ligament injury (which Chilwell suffered at the end of 2021, ed.) I worked so hard to make sure I would be fit for the World Cup,” the Englishman writes. “That has always been a dream of mine. Unfortunately, my scans have shown that this will not be possible. It’s very hard to comprehend right now, but I believe everything happens for a reason. I will give everything to be able to play for Chelsea again as soon as possible. Thanks for all the messages and support.”

Chilwell made his debut for England in 2018 and came to seventeen caps in total, in which he managed to score once. He was part of the selection that reached the European Championship final last year, which was lost to Italy on penalties. Incidentally, he did not play at that tournament. During the six Nations League matches England played between June and September this year, Chilwell was only once in the selection: against Germany (3-3). He also remained on the bench for the entire game.

Chilwell is not the first name national coach Gareth Southgate can draw a line through in the run-up to the World Cup. For example, Reece James injured his knee in October, after which his club Chelsea reported that he has been out of circulation for eight weeks. As a result, Southgate cannot take him to Qatar. There is still a question mark behind the name Kyle Walker, as the right back of Manchester City was operated on at the beginning of October for a groin injury. The World Cup starts for England on November 21 with a game against Iran. Four days later, the United States will be the opponent, after which the group stage will close on November 29 against Wales.