Chelsea handed massive injury boost as Gareth Southgate confirms 27-year-old star is back to Cobham training

England manager Gareth Southgate has included injured Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell in his list for the upcoming international friendlies against Brazil and Belgium. The former Leicester defender has missed the last two games for the Blues due to a knee injury but Southgate has hinted at an imminent return by naming him in the squad for this month's games. 

Southgate told reporters: "We are hopeful that Ben comes through this week with Chelsea in training."

Chilwell had earlier missed three months with a hamstring issue and Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino confirmed he was seeing a specialist after a knee problem in training recently.

He told reporters last Friday: "Yes, we are suffering this kind of negativity in terms of injuries, but we cannot stop believing and stop working. We need to give confidence to the players who will play on Monday.

“We need to wait until he (Ben Chilwell) sees the specialist. I hope it’s not a big issue but I prefer to be cautious and wait.”

The England defender's return will be a massive lift to the west London club who take on Leicester this weekend in the quarter-final stage of the FA Cup. Reece James, Wesley Fofana and Christopher Nkunku are all ruled out due to injuries, so having Chilwell competing with Marc Cucurella for a starting slot would do the team a world of good. 

In other news, Cole Palmer who has been sensational since signing on from Manchester City in the summer has kept his spot in England squad after making his debut last November. Conor Gallagher has also been rewarded for his continual excellence for the Blues.