Ben Chilwell went down with a minor illness almost a week after he attended an ill-advised birthday party of Tammy Abraham which forced him out of the England vs Wales friendly match.
He was part of the Gareth Southgate’s squad for the triple-header against Wales, Belgium, and Denmark but unfortunately for him, he was among the over 20 people that showed up for the 23rd year birthday party of his Chelsea’s team-mate Abraham which is a breach of coronavirus rule in the United Kingdom.
The government of the country passed a rule which banned the gathering of more than 6 people in the country which is an attempt to reduce the spread of the deadly coronavirus. But Abraham’s birthday party had more than the maximum number of people allowed in a social gathering.
Hence, the three players who attended the party, Chilwell, Abraham, and Borussia Dortmund star, Jadon Sancho, were kicked out of England squad due to the incident. Their absence was not felt as England national team went on to defeat Wales 3-0 on Thursday.
Since they were kicked out of the squad, the trio has been training separately while they awaited their return to the squad for the commencement of the term’s full preparation for the country’s European Nations League match against Belgium on Sunday, October 11.
In line with the team’s protocol, Ben Chilwell, Tammy Abraham, and Jadon Sancho were tested for coronavirus and their result returned negative which should have given them the direct pass to return to the squad.
However, Chilwell was recovery from a minor illness that was not related to coronavirus, hence, he had to continue to stay away from the squad as a precautionary measure.
Unfortunately for the 23-year-old Chelsea’s defender, he was not available to be tested by UEFA for coronavirus early enough due to the illness he is recovering from. Hence, he would not be part of England’s team that will play against Belgium on Sunday.
He could be available for England’s last match of the Fifa international break which is against Denmark on Wednesday, October 14, 2020. This will however depend on the coronavirus test that he will undergo ahead of the match.
“Tammy and Jadon have trained independently – with us but in isolation this afternoon”, coach Southgate said. “All three players have tested negatively.
“Ben has had some illness which we think is minor but as a precaution, we’ve kept him separate from the group at the moment. There’s probably a strong chance he won’t be with us for the Uefa testing in the morning, which would rule him out for Sunday. We would expect Tammy and Jadon to be available for that.”
Ben Chilwell has been playing for England national team since September 11, 2018. So far, the 23-year-old left-back has made 11 appearances for the “Three Lions”. He joined Chelsea from Leicester City this summer for a transfer fee worth about €50.20 million. So far, he has played just a match for the club scoring a goal and providing an assist.
