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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
George Flood and Nizaar Kinsella

Chelsea defender Levi Colwill set for England assessment on shoulder injury

Chelsea defender Levi Colwill will be assessed by England medical staff on Monday to determine his availability for the upcoming internationals.

The centre-back was a surprise omission from Mauricio Pochettino's Blues squad for Sunday's epic eight-goal thriller against Manchester City, with his manager confirming before that game that he was nursing a minor shoulder problem.

He was also substituted at half-time of last week's chaotic 4-1 win at Tottenham, though that early withdrawal was put down to a "loss of focus" rather than any injury amid a fiery London derby after he was booked and ran the risk of a red card.

Colwill remained in the England squad as of Monday morning, so far not joining Tottenham midfielder James Maddison, Brighton defender Lewis Dunk and Newcastle striker Callum Wilson in withdrawing from Three Lions duty through injury.

However, a final decision on his availability for the final pair of Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta at Wembley on Friday and Monday's trip to North Macedonia will be determined after he reports to St George's Park for assessment.

Colwill's Chelsea team-mate Cole Palmer was handed his maiden senior England call-up on Monday to complete a whirlwind 24 hours after he also dispatched a last-gasp penalty in the memorable 4-4 draw with former club City at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea defender Levi Colwill made his senior England debut against Australia at Wembley last month (Getty Images)

The £40million summer signing was promoted from Lee Carsley's Under-21 squad along with former City team-mate Rico Lewis, while uncapped Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa was also called up following the withdrawals of Maddison, Dunk and Wilson.

Colwill is enjoying a fine first season as a full-time starter at Chelsea after last season's impressive loan spell at Brighton, making 14 appearances across all competitions so far this term.

A key member of the England U21 squad that won the European Championship over the summer, he was called into the senior group for the first time back in August and made his only appearance to date in the 1-0 friendly win over Australia at Wembley last month.

There are also huge doubts over the fitness of Jude Bellingham for England's final qualifiers, meanwhile.

The in-form Real Madrid star missed Saturday's 5-1 LaLiga thrashing of Valencia with a shoulder issue of his own and club boss Carlo Ancelotti was very pessimistic about his chances of playing for his country this week.

Like Colwill, Bellingham will report to St George's Park on Monday for assessment by England medical staff before a decision is taken on whether or not he remains with Gareth Southgate's squad or is sent back to his club for further treatment instead.

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