As soon as Ben Chilwell pulled up injured during Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Wednesday night, he knew something was not right.
The left-back was taken off clutching his left hamstring in the final moments at Stamford Bridge and was later pictured leaving the stadium on crutches. With less than three weeks until the World Cup, the tears in his eyes said all that needed to be said.
Asked if the tournament in Qatar was now a concern for Chilwell, Chelsea boss Graham Potter said: “I think you’d have to say so.
“Obviously I don’t want to say any more than that but when a player pulls up like he did, and he felt it, so it’s never positive.
“It’s a blow for us, on an otherwise positive evening. To see him pull up like that is not a great sight, fingers crossed when we get it scanned it won’t be as severe. But clearly we’re disappointed.”
The full extent of the 25-year-old’s injury is still to be determined, but with just days until Gareth Southgate names his squad, there is plenty of conversation taking place over who should replace Chilwell in the squad should he be ruled out.
Here, we take a look at the potential options Southgate has at his disposal.
Trippier looks nailed on to win a place in the England squad for his third major tournament anyway and his versatility across the backline likely puts him at the forefront of Southgate’s mind to challenge Luke Shaw for the starting spot on the left.
The 32-year-old has played exclusively in his favoured right-back position at Newcastle this term, but he is no stranger to taking up the left-back role on the international stage and started there during England’s Euro 2020 opener against Croatia.
Justifying his decision following the 1-0 win, Southgate said: “We felt that his talking across the backline and his ability to get out and stop crosses quickly and his experience on a day like today – alongside Tyrone Mings, who is relatively early in his international career – would be a good stabilising element.”
The England boss is fond of multi-faceted players and Trippier could provide a strong, creative and experienced presence on either side of the defence.
That said, with right-backs Kyle Walker and Reece James in a race against time to be fit for the tournament, he may well be required elsewhere.
Sky Bet odds to make the final 26-man squad: 1/25