Ben Chilwell has revealed how he and Reece James helped each other through the heartbreak of missing the World Cup with England.
The pair have been recalled by Gareth Southgate to face Italy and Ukraine in European Championship qualifying matches.
The Chelsea full-backs missed the tournament in Qatar after James suffered a knee injury away at AC Milan, before Chilwell then pulled his hamstring in successive Champions League matches.
They then had to do their rehabilitation in London before flying to Abu Dhabi with thei squad to prepare for the matches that followed the tournament.
Speaking at St George’s Park, Chilwell recalled how they dealt with the ‘mentally challenging’ period together: “Weirdly, it was nice that we had each other during that time as it was someone you could share the pain of missing a World Cup with.
“We were at a training camp in Abu Dhabi with Chelsea for the knockout games. I was cheering the team on. We watched it as a team really.
“We put it up in the hotel and sat down after dinner to watch the games every night. Of course, when you have a lot of different nationalities and players supporting different teams.
“All the banter was in light-hearted nature. It was nice to watch the games together. Me and Reece helped each other and we are both stronger and playing well with our clubs at the moment.”
Chilwell hasn’t lined up for England in over a year, missing out through a hamstring injury in Qatar just a few months after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament with Chelsea.
He also missed the European Championships, played predominantly in England, partly due to an interaction with his former teammate Billy Gilmour who contracted coronavirus, forcing him into self-isolation.
He continued: “I think mentally it was very challenging. Of course, the Euros I was there and the World Cup, I wasn’t there. It was a different kind of challenge. It kind of gets sprung on you so you don’t have much time to adapt.
“I just thought how can I turn this situation into a positive and work on myself as a footballer and a person. I tried to spend a lot of time with my family, get away from it a bit and reset.
“Now, mentally I feel refreshed and ready to go again. That’s pretty much the way I’ve tried to look at the injuries I’ve had and try to spin it into a situation where I can help myself to be better to help Chelsea and England.
Having revealed he sees a therapist in 2020 to help him through the stresses in the game, he urged his fellow professionals to do the same, adding that he still sees the same mental health practitioner: “The stigma, especially in men’s football is silly really.
“I have been speaking to someone for a few years now and I think it can help anyone really. The stigma around it needs to go.”
