Pochettino slams Gareth Southgate for what he did to this Chelsea player during the international break

Ben Chilwell
Photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has taken a dig at England head coach Gareth Southgate following his treatment of Ben Chilwell.

Chilwell returned from international duty with a knock, much to the displeasure of Pochettino.

Chilwell started both of England’s friendlies over the international break, and the Chelsea manager was unhappy about this.

Speaking in his press conference ahead of Saturday’s match against Burnley, Pochettino said: “We still need to assess a few players like Chilwell after playing two games. I think he got a knock in his knee.

“Today, he wasn’t ready to train. We will see what will happen tomorrow if he can be in the squad. Enzo [Fernandez] has still not arrived.”

When asked if it was a surprise that Chilwell played in both friendlies, he said: “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 that 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 in the game against Belgium. That’s another bit of bad luck we have because we need to assess whether he can be available.”