Shoulder injury for Blues star

CALLUM Hudson-Odoi missed England Under-21’s crunch European Championship game against Portugal on Sunday because of a shoulder injury sustained in training.

The winger was replaced in Aidy Boothroyd’s side by former Tottenham Hotspur academy star Noni Madueke, but England lost 2-0.

However, Hudson-Odoi’s issue is not thought to be serious.

That diagnosis will come as a relief to Thomas Tuchel, who has already seen N’Golo Kante injured on international duty in the past couple of days.

The midfielder has returned to London having felt some discomfort in a hamstring during France’s 1-1 draw against Ukraine.

Thiago Silva, Tammy Abraham, Jorginho and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy all went into the international break with ailments.

Chelsea’s first game after the international break comes at home to struggling West Bromwich Albion on Saturday lunchtime.

Speaking on Saturday about Hudson-Odoi, England Under-21 boss Boothroyd said that the Chelsea man would have a key role to play having been the most likely to break the deadlock in the surprise 1-0 defeat to Switzerland on Thursday afternoon.

However, he picked up the knock in a training session after the prematch press conference – when the head coach said there were no injury concerns.

“We need Callum,” Boothroyd said. “We need all of them. We have 23 outstanding players but only 11 places. Callum is a player who has done brilliantly for his club and us. He’s a key player. It’s important that we share the load in this particular game.”