Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell to miss World Cup due to ‘significant’ hamstring injury

While Reece James recovers “ahead of schedule” from a knee injury that might not even take him out of World Cup contention with the English national team, fellow Blues defender Ben Chilwell will not have the same luck with his hamstring problem.

Chelsea officially announced today that Chilwell’s injury, picked up while playing against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League’s last group stage match, is ‘significant’ to the point of having him miss the international competition later this month.

Injuries are never good at any point of a footballer’s career. But the timing on Chilwell getting hit with a hamstring problem only two weeks ahead of the World Cup — and with matches against Arsenal and Manchester City to be played until then — is beyond annoying for someone who had everything to be England’s go-to left-back/wing-back under manager Gareth Southgate.

We all wish Chilly a speedy recovery! And please take time to focus on doing all the right things on this track, since rushing towards recovery is almost never a good idea.