Chelsea and defender Ben Chilwell fear that his hamstring injury could keep him out for months. (Getty Images)
According to Football.london, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed why he opted to start Ben Chilwell ahead of Marcos Alonso against Sheffield United.
Alonso, after having been frozen out by former boss Frank Lampard, has gotten a new lease of life under Tuchel. The Spaniard made his first appearance for Chelsea since November in the win against Burnley and also started against Tottenham Hotspur.
Chilwell, who had featured in Tuchel’s first game in-charge against Wolves, however, was reinstated for the game against Sheffield United on Sunday night.
Explaining his reason behind the selection, Tuchel claimed that he played Chilwell to avoid risking fatigue with Alonso.
“For Marcos, there was no need to take the risk. To play three in a row in 10 days after a long pause of competition for him. So, there was the chance for Chilly, and it’s the same reason for Callum Hudson-Odoi.”
Chilwell failed to make the most of his chance though, as he endured a forgettable outing. The England international hasn’t been in the best of forms of late. That continued at Bramall Lane too as he conceded a penalty, only to be saved by the VAR.
Chilwell’s form, coupled with Alonso’s recent resurgence, could spell trouble for the former Leicester City man. Having become the undisputed first-choice left-back, he is now staring at the prospect of falling behind the Spaniard in the pecking order.
It is now up to him to take this as a challenge and recover from this run.
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