Mauricio Pochettino unhappy with 'surprise' England decision as Chelsea star left injured

Mauricio Pochettino isn't happy that Ben Chilwell played the majority of England's international double header - with the left-back now a doubt to feature for Chelsea this weekend.

The left-back played the full 90 minutes for Three Lions as they battled to a late draw with Belgium at Wembley in midweek, having played 67 minutes of the weekend loss to Brazil.

And while Pochettino bemoaned "bad luck", he isn't pleased that Chilwell - who has only played six Premier League games for the Blues since September due to a serious hamstring injury and a recent knee issue - played such a big part. It has left the former Leicester man unable to train before their clash with Burnley on Saturday.

Asked about Chilwell's injury and his playing time for his country, Pochettino said: “Surprised, not surprised, I don't know. If he cannot play with us or be available, because he didn't play after Brentford with us. He played a few minutes against Leicester. He started two games.

"Yes, 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.”

Cole Palmer was another Chelsea star in England's squad for the recent internationals, but the playmaker failed to get a single minute due to a minor injury. Palmer has been the standout performer at Stamford Bridge this term and is new to the England set-up, but Pochettino confessed the youngster was disappointed by the outcome.

He said: "Yes, he is a little bit disappointed because he couldn't play or perform with the national team. He had a small problem for the first game and thought he could play the second game. He is OK and training well.

"I think the plan is if he trains in the same way, he will be available for the game on Saturday."

Ben Chilwell was injured late on Tuesday night

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Pochettino won't be able to call upon Romeo Lavia for the remainder of the campaign. The midfielder only made one appearance before injury hit and he'll now remain sidelined, which his manager admitted was "sad" but "it is a thing that sometimes happens in football".

Chelsea saw off Leicester in the FA Cup before the international break and now resume league action against Burnley knowing that European football is still achievable, but only if they find some consistency.

Pochettino said on the challenge ahead: "We need to be in a different place, we need to win, perform well. The Premier League you are never going to find an easy game. Burnley are a very good team, a very exciting team to watch. It is going to be difficult."

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