29 September 2023 , 14:29
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Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed Ben Chilwell is set for an extended spell on the sidelines in a new blow to struggling Chelsea.
Chilwell limped off with a hamstring injury late into the Blues' win over Brighton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. He had started Chelsea's first four Premier League games, captaining the side on three occasions.
But he has once again suffered a huge setback, having seen his time at Stamford Bridge plagued by injury. In November 2021, the left-back ruptured his ACL, ruling him out until the following season.
Two hamstring injuries also ruled him out for 20 games last season, with the England star receiving further bad news this week. Pochettino has confirmed that Chelsea's medical staff believe Chilwell will not be available for some time.
"I think it’s bad news. From what the doctor told me it’s not a good thing, it looks like a bad injury, but we need to assess in the next few days and we’ll see the period that he’s going to be absent from the squad and the team. But it doesn’t look good," Pochettino said.
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"The mechanism was bad, it was in the last minute of the game. We are really sad about the news about Ben. It’s difficult to know the timing now, it’s only less than two days since it happened.
"We need to assess in the next few days and the doctor will tell us and for sure the club will communicate. I think it is the same leg as he injured last season. He was fresh and only played 20 minutes against Aston Villa.
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Chilwell sustained a hamstring issue in Chelsea's win over Brighton (Getty Images)"It’s the mechanism of the action because he was pulled from his back in the moment that he dragged the ball. I think he was fouled but then he was a little bit unlucky in the way that he suffered the injury because he was affected for a different reason.
"We are very disappointed, very sad, because he was having a very good game. We were talking a lot during the last few weeks in the areas to improve. We are very disappointed because the news is not good and now we are going to miss another player for a certain amount of time."
Pochettino is continuing to deal with a massive injury list, with Chilwell one of eight first-team stars who have been sidelined. Captain Reece James is also on the injury list, though Pochettino is backing the other members of his squad to step up.
"I don’t believe Reece will be available, not for Monday. Maybe a week after, we’ll see. Also we need to assess him, but I cannot confirm at the moment. In any club, always you miss important players when they cannot play," Pochettino added.
"Of course we will miss them, always we miss top players and Reece and Chilly are top players. When they are at their best they are the best full-backs in the world. Any team missing important players, it will affect their performance.
"There is only one Reece James and one Ben Chilwell. We have Malo, Marc [Cucurella] and Levi [Colwill] who can come in and play really well, but they have a different profile. That is football. It is difficult to replace top players."