Chelsea star Ben Chilwell has revealed that returning to action for England has been a main motivator for getting through his recent injury struggles. The 26-year-old has suffered with some absences over the past two seasons, but has finally made his return to action in recent weeks.
That comes as a huge boost to Graham Potter, who is able to mix and match the left-hand-side of his system after the addition of Marc Cucurella last summer. The manager believes the defender has gotten stronger since coming back from injury over the past month.
“That’s sort of what I’ve been talking about for a while," Potter said earlier this month when asked about Chilwell finding some form. “When you’re not winning, it doesn’t matter, but the likes of Ben [Chilwell], Wesley [Fofana], Ruben [Loftus-Cheek], Reece [James], and Raheem [Sterling] are all getting minutes in the Premier League.
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“In an ideal world, you’d build that up in pre-season and have five or six weeks of build-up on the pitch. We’ve not been able to do that, so they have had to do it in the Premier League. Ben has got stronger and stronger as the weeks have gone on."
The left-back's injury troubles saw him miss out on a spot at the World Cup in Qatar last year, however his recent form saw him back in the squad for England's European Championship qualifiers - where the side won their opening two games. Detailing his comeback, he said: "It’s been a while since I put the jersey on, so I wanted to make sure I played well.
“It was [the hope of having] moments like putting that shirt on tonight that kept me going. To know that the hard work paid off and to get the chance to start again for England, I’m very happy. International football is very difficult in its own right. But when you’re playing well for your club, you bring that form into international games.”
Chilwell will now rejoin the Blues for the end of the Premier League campaign, hopeful of continuing that recent spell to propel the side up the league before the summer internationals.
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