Ben Chilwell injury: Latest update, what Graham Potter…

Ben Chilwell injury: Latest update, what Graham Potter said, next Chelsea fixtures

Chelsea and England fans will have suffered a scare on Wednesday night as they watched Ben Chilwell leave the pitch at Stamford Bridge with what appeared to be a hamstring injury.

The blow comes just weeks away from the start of the World Cup, with Gareth Southgate expected to name his final 26-man squad following the completion of the pre-tournament Premier League fixtures on November 13th. The Three Lions boss has already submitted his initial 55-man list to FIFA, with Chilwell expected to have been among that group of players.

What happened to Chilwell?

The full-back limped off the pitch in the closing stages of Chelsea's 2-1 victory against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League. He pulled up clutching his hamstring in the fourth minute of added time before being helped off the field by the Blues medical staff after the full-time whistle.

What Potter said

"It doesn't look positive," Chelsea manager Potter said after the match on Wednesday. "It's a blow for us on an otherwise positive evening I think. It's a blow to see him pull up like that, it's not a great sight.

"So fingers crossed when we get the scan it isn't bad, it can be not severe, but we have to have fingers crossed at the moment. But clearly, we're disappointed."

Potter also gave bad news for England fans, saying that the injury was a concern for the World Cup, explaining: "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, it's never positive.

"It's a blow for us and a blow for him and sadly he won't be the only one who's affected like that in this period because October was incredibly challenging, the games that we had to play, but it is what it is."

Will Chilwell miss the World Cup?

Following the injury, Southgate will have a decision to make with hamstring injuries generally leading to a minimum of three weeks out. The Blues star has only recently returned from an ACL injury which saw him ruled out for the majority of last season and will be hoping that his bad luck does not continue.

Southgate will be thankful for the return to form of Manchester United's Luke Shaw, who is now in pole position to take the left-back role he enjoyed during England's Euro 2020 campaign. Chilwell was in the squad for that tournament, but did not play due to the good form of Shaw.

The Telegraph are reporting on Thursday that there are real fears that Chilwell's hamstring injury is serious and could keep him out for longer than just the World Cup. Chelsea are awaiting the outcome of a scan.