Chelsea FC may have to do without an undisputed regular for the entire 2025/26 season: England international Levi Colwill (22) tore his cruciate ligament during the first training session.
Among the ranks of sinfully expensive new signings, Chelsea FC has had a home-grown player as a fixture since last season. Levi Colwill played a total of 35 Premier League games over the full 90 minutes in the 2024/25 season, and he also played almost the entire Club World Cup for the eventual champions, missing only the semi-final due to a yellow card suspension.
At the beginning of this week, there was a moment of shock, which was followed by a real shock: Colwill suffered a knee injury in training, which, after thorough examination, turned out to be a torn anterior cruciate ligament. The 2025/26 season may be over before it even begins for the 22-year-old center back. Surgery was unavoidable, as the Blues announced on Thursday evening.
Chelsea had strengthened their defense during this transfer window with the signing of Ajax gem Jorrel Hato (19, for a reported €40 million), among others. It remains to be seen whether head coach Enzo Maresca will demand further reinforcements after this heavy personnel setback.
World Cup participation in jeopardy
Colwill’s serious injury (five international caps) is also bad news for national coach Thomas Tuchel. Colwill played the full 90 minutes in the German coach’s first defeat, a 3-1 loss to Senegal in mid-June. The long-term injury means that his participation in the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico is now even less likely.
Chelsea’s Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who lost 4-0 in Munich on Thursday, also suffered a cruciate ligament injury to James Maddison on Thursday.
