Ben Chilwell has revealed his dreams of making the 2022 England World Cup squad after using it as motivation to return from injury.
The Chelsea defender made his comeback in May against Wolves on the final day of the season after missing around six months of the season with an ACL injury.
He came off against Juventus back in November 2021 and was forced to undergo surgery prior to New Year after suffering a setback in training.
Chilwell has returned to pre-season with the rest of the Chelsea squad, who are now in America for three matches this month, and will be hoping to collect some solid minutes ahead of the Premier League season opener on 6 August against Everton.
He will face competition from Emerson Palmieri, while fellow left wing-back Marcos Alonso is likely to depart to Barcelona this summer.
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But Chilwell will be the number one choice, so if he is fit he will be selected by Thomas Tuchel.
It’s not just Chelsea that the defender has his eyes set on, returning to the England squad for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
Luke Shaw, Kieran Trippier and Tyrick Mitchell are likely to be competing for the left-back positions in Gareth Southgate’s squad, and Chilwell is hoping to achieve his dream by playing in the World Cup.
Speaking to reporters, Chilwell said: I’m back in full training now, I trained with the group in the last week of the season, came on for a few minutes.
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“It has been nice to get away from it all after a long six months of rehab for a few weeks. I’ve come back early and I’ve been here three weeks and feel fit and ready.
“I injured it on Christmas Day. I planted my knee during a session outside. On Boxing Day I saw my surgeon Andy Williams and we decided to crack on with the surgery. I took it in my stride and was pretty positive. I felt it could improve me mentally.
"The World Cup is a big motivation as well as the season with Chelsea.
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“If I play well between now and then I am confident I will be in the squad. That’s my mindset and I wasn’t worried.
"I just wanted to do everything I can to be the best version of myself and play well for Chelsea for four months to give myself a chance to be picked.
“I dreamed of playing in the World Cup ever since I can remember, to know it is around the corner is more motivation than you know for me to see if I can establish my spot. Especially after the Euros which was a difficult time for me.
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“I want to be the left-back in the team and I think we can do really well and go a long way. It would be amazing.
"It would be a highlight of not just my career but my life. So I am going to work for it for the next four months.”
Topics: Ben Chilwell, England, Chelsea
Matthew Debono