Ben Chilwell's World Cup dream looks over after the England defender injured his hamstring in the dying minutes of Chelsea's Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb.
The Blues left-back, who started the dead rubber ahead of Marc Cucurella, stopped suddenly as he chased a ball rolling into touch. He lay on his back in agony and had to be helped from the pitch by members of Chelsea ’s coaching staff at full time.
With three weeks to go before Qatar, Gareth Southgate will be waiting anxiously for news on the full-back while Graham Potter must plan without Chilwell for Chelsea’s final two games before the mid-season break.
But it remains a bitter blow for the player who has been open about his desperation to play at the World Cup.
Speaking after returning from injury in time for pre-season, he said: "The World Cup is a big motivation for me, as well as the season with Chelsea.
“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.
“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.”
Former England defender Rio Ferdinand said on BT Sport: "It's so unfortunate for any player to have an injury but for someone who has had injuries prior to this it's so disheartening. I'm sure he will come back from it though."
And ex-Chelsea star Joe Cole added:"I feel his pain. I had problems at the back end of my career. It's heartbreaking. As soon as it happens all you can think about is that it is so close to a World Cup.
"If it's a hamstring injury usually the least you can hope for is 2-3 weeks before you get back onto the pitch. It's really tough. I really feel for him."
Should Chilwell fail to make Qatar, Southgate will have to turn to Luke Shaw, Kieran Trippier or perhaps even Bukayo Saka.
