Ben Chilwell is sweating on scan results to save his season after injuring his knee in Chelsea’s Champions League romp against Juventus, according to The Sun.
There are fears the defender has damaged his anterior cruciate ligament in what would be a huge blow to the player, his club and England.
Chilwell had to be helped from the pitch on Wednesday after jarring his leg with 19 minutes left of the 4-0 victory against Juventus which took Chelsea to their top of Group H.
He has already started initial treatment with scans to assess the scale of the problem.
Sometimes Chelsea follow that up with a second one once swelling around the affect area has died down.
The physio team at the club are waiting to check the full results before a full prognosis is delivered.
But it could mean a lengthy spell on the sidelines for the £50million left back just as he was starting to reassert his position in the team.
Chilwell could be out for between six and nine months which effectively ends his campaign for the Premier League leaders and reigning European champions.
It means boss Thomas Tuchel will have to rely on Spaniard Marcos Alonso to fill the left back slot for what looks destined to be a hectic season.
They are through to the knockout stages of the Champions League as they defend the title and are into the last eight of the Carabao Cup next month.
In addition Chelsea play in the World Club Cup in early February which means the fixtures are piling up.
Chilwell was out of the team at the beginning of the season after losing his place to Alonso but had recently fought his way back into the reckoning.
But if he is crocked long term it is a big setback for Chelsea and to England as they continue preparations for next winter’s World Cup finals in Qatar.
Chelsea are also sweating on injury to Chilwell’s team-mate N’Golo Kante who twisted his knee in the same match on Wednesday.
Fabio Capello was blown away by Chelsea’s tactics as they gave Juventus a ‘lesson in football’.
The former England manager, 75, was on punditry duties with Sky Sport Italia on Tuesday night as Juve headed to Stamford Bridge.
But it was tough viewing for the former Old Lady player and manager as he saw the reigning European champions run riot.
Trevoh Chalobah opened the scoring on his Champions League before fellow academy graduates Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi added two more before the hour mark.
Sub Timo Werner then made it 4-0 deep into injury time to secure the Blues’ spot in the knockout stages.
And Capello could not hold back in his admiration for the way Thomas Tuchel set his team up.
The Italian said: “I think this was a real lesson in football from Chelsea.
“Let’s take Liverpool for example, they play aggressively and vertically.
“And tonight we saw Chelsea press, run and never pass the ball backwards. They never start from the back, instead they are always proactive, always forward, no passes to the goalkeeper.
“These are rhythms that the Italian league is no longer used to. There is a big difference in speed and quality compared to our league.
“There is another pressure. Then here are the tackles, you enter hard, the referee does not whistle for fouls that would be whistled here [in Serie A].
“In Italy you play too much with the goalkeeper. I think they are two German coaches, maybe we need to learn from them and update ourselves.
“A coach used to say, ‘How you train is you play.’ When there is great intensity and competitive spirit and you are not used to it, it becomes difficult. When you train with not enough rhythm in the end you get these results in Europe.”
Thomas Tuchel hailed Chelsea for an ‘amazing performance’ to crush Juventus 4-0 in the Champions League.
Unlike the 1-0 defeat in Turin, Chelsea dominated from start to finish and ran riot with goals from Trevor Chalobah, Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Timo Werner.
“We wanted to stay patient but at the same time not fall asleep. We wanted to increase the rhythm and intensity. It’s so tough to create and score but we created so much. An amazing performance and a fantastic result,” Tuchel told BT Sport.
The Champions League winning manager was asked what had changed so much from only a few weeks ago?
“We were sharper than in Turin, we took more risks, something we lacked in Turin. By control you cannot hurt them – you need to penetrate with runs off the ball. We were very good and scored nice goals.
“I feel very aware that we do the invisible work and when we have to defend we really defend and dig in.”
N’Golo Kante went off injured in the first half, followed after the break by Ben Chilwell, who seemed to sprain his knee.
“Ben has a sharp pain in the knee. N’Golo twisted his knee a little bit. They will both be examined tomorrow. They are very sad things because N’Golo was very good before he went off and Chilly has been in a fantastic moment.”
Max Allegri insists Juventus did well in the first half of their 4-0 humiliation against Chelsea, saying: ‘We have limitations, there’s no denying it.’
The reigning Champions League holders ran riot with goals from Trevor Chalobah, Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Timo Werner.
Only Alvaro Morata really threatened, his chip denied by a Thiago Silva goal-line clearance at 1-0, and Weston McKennie forced the one real save.
This was a humiliation for Juventus, who had not lost by four clear goals in all competition since a 4-0 Serie A defeat to Roma in February 2004 and suffered their worst ever Champions League defeat.
“I think the first half was good. After the break, they continued their press, while we were a bit too weak on the second and third goals,” Allegri told Sky Sport Italia.
“We allowed a few too many corners, where they are strong physically. We had a few situations where we could’ve done better. It’s disappointing to concede four goals, but the objective was achieved and now we must think about Saturday’s game with Atalanta.
“There were moments when we gave the ball away too cheaply by trying to make vertical passes too quickly rather than keeping the ball. We do that often and need to work on that, because you can’t do it against the reigning champions of Europe.
“The team was by no means bad in the first half. After the break, we lost confidence after the errors for the second and third goals.”
Romelu Lukaku was on the bench this evening with an ankle issue, so Chelsea used Christian Pulisic as a False 9 in a more versatile trident attack. Did Lukaku’s presence in the first leg make it easier for Juventus to defend against?
“It’s not that it made it easier, it’s that they had a completely different tactical approach. We were much more focused with our defending for 90 minutes in Turin, whereas here we rather let go after 45,” replied Allegri.
“In any case, we have qualified with two games to spare and can now focus on the next match. Today I congratulated the lads on reaching the Champions League Round of 16.
“It’s not as if after beating Lazio we have become the best team in Europe. We have limitations, there’s no denying it, and we will work on them to improve.”
Chelsea saw off Juventus at Stamford Bridge to take control of Champions League Group H.
The Blues’ young guns were on form under the lights with Trevoh Chalobah, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Reece James all on target.
And the win was wrapped up in stoppage time as Timo Werner – back from injury off the bench – fired in an emphatic fourth.
This is how the Blues fared in the match:
Edouard Mendy
Didn’t have a save to make in the first half but was indebted to Thiago Silva for keeping the game at 1-0 in the first half. Forced into action once after half time and made a good stop from McKennie. Losing count of how many clean sheets he has had in the Champions League. 8
Reece James
Almost caught Szczęsny out with a fine free kick in the first half and saw the Juve stopper beat away a second fierce effort. Had a third effort on goal and he unleashed a stunner into the far corner that gave Szczęsny no chance to continue his fine form. Best right-back in the country. 9
Trevoh Chalobah
Made his first Champions League start and scored his first Champions League goal on 25 minutes, lashing home inside the box. Didn’t have too much defending to do but when he needed to, he was calm and composed again. 9
Thiago Silva
Put his marker down on Alvaro Morata early on with a couple of well-timed interceptions. World class goal line clearance denied Morata a goal on his Stamford Bridge return. Just a Rolls Royce of a defender and didn’t make a single mistake all game. 9
Antonio Rudiger
Played as a left winger for the first ten minutes as Juventus stood off him time and time again. Like his fellow centre backs, had next to no defending to do for the majority of the game. 8
Ben Chilwell
A lot more disciplined as he marked Federico Chiesa out of the game in the opening 45 minutes, allowing James on the other side to rampage forward. Marked Chiesa out of the game that Allegri ended up shifting him to James’ flank. Very worrying injury in the second half forced him off on 72 minutes. 8
Jorginho
Conducted Chelsea with absolute ease in the first half as they dominated the ball and eventually got the breakthrough. Coasted through the game without so much as breaking a sweat. 8
N’Golo Kante
A mazy run early doors got Tuchel out of his seat. Picked up a problem midway through the half and was forced off, went straight down the tunnel and is a worry ahead of Man Utd this weekend. 6
Callum Hudson-Odoi
Use of the ball wasn’t the best in the opening 20 minutes and struggled to really get into the game early on. His impact grew though and got on the scoresheet just before the hour mark, netting Chelsea’s third. Impressive after the break. 8
Hakim Ziyech
Too one-dimensional trying to get onto his left foot and lost the ball too often as a result. Better after the break as he became a more pivotal figure in the game in the number ten role but still wildly inconsistent. 7
Christian Pulisic
Played as the central striker/false nine. Didn’t have much of an impact through the middle on his first start since injury and was unsurprisingly taken off on 72 minutes for Werner. 6
Substitutions
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (for Kante, 36′)
Superb feet created the third Chelsea goal for Hudson-Odoi and was a real powerhouse in the midfield after his introduction. Brutally took the mick out of Rabiot in the second half. Very, very good performance off the bench. 8
Cesar Azpilicueta (for Chilwell, 72′)
Played on the left after Chilwell’s injury. Solid enough though didn’t see much by way of the ball or defending. 6
Timo Werner (for Pulisic, 72′)
Made his return from injury. Looked understandably rusty when a half chance fell to him. 6
Saul Niguez (for Jorginho, 76′)
Some rare minutes for the Spanish midfielder. 6
Mason Mount (for Hudson-Odoi, 76′)
Quite a surprise to see him introduced with Chelsea 3-0 up. 6
