Mauricio Pochettino ‘surprised’ by Chelsea star playing two international games in March

Mauricio Pochettino did not expect Ben Chilwell to start two games for England in the international break

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has expressed his surprise that Ben Chilwell started both England matches during the international break and admitted the left-back suffered a knock in the Three Lions final game of the break against Belgium.

Just three weeks ago, there were reports about the England international looking to see a knee specialist, and that, many feared, was another extended spell on the sidelines. Although that did prove to be a temporary cause, Ben soon returned to the fold for club and country.

Despite his injury worries, the former Leicester City full-back played 67 minutes in England’s defeat to Brazil and then the full match in a 2-2 draw against Belgium on Tuesday night. Gareth Southgate didn’t have many alternatives for the left-back position, with Manchester United’s Luke Shaw facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines with an injury that has negatively affected the Blues.

Mauricio Pochettino reacts to Chilwell playing both England games.

The Chelsea gaffer expressed his surprise when quizzed about his opinion on the 27-year-old playing both games for Gareth Southgate’s side while confirming that he returned from the international break with another minor knock. Speaking in his pre-match (against Burnley) press conference, Pochettino said, via Football. London:

“Surprised, not surprised; I don’t know. If he cannot play for us or be available, and because he didn’t play after Brentford with us, he only played a few minutes against Leicester in the FA Cup. Yes, it was a situation where he started two games; maybe it’s a surprise for us. But it’s bad luck because he got a dead leg in the last moment of the game against Belgium. That’s another bit of bad luck we have because we need to assess whether he can be available.”

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Ben Chilwell has had his share of injury concerns this season, but his availability is important for Pochettino and the squad in their bid to qualify for Europe this season.