Chelsea defender Levi Colwill made his first appearance since the Club World Cup final for the U21s on Friday, although the club are insisting they will not be rushing him back into action.
Levi Colwill suffered an ACL injury during the club’s limited pre-season campaign, leaving the Blues without their best centre-back for the entire 2025/26 season so far.
Enzo Maresca publicly asked for a new centre-back after the England international’s injury, and the fact he didn’t get one was part of the reason he fell out with the higher ups at the club.
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Levi Colwill returns to action with Chelsea Under 21s friendly
New manager Liam Rosenior has not been able to use Colwill yet either, however will have been delighted to see him back on the pitch for a behind-closed-doors friendly for the U21s.
Journalist Simon Johnson stated that things went well for the defender on his first run out, although there is still a clear plan in place to not rush his return to first team action.
Chelsea Training Session and Press Conference
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He said: “Am told Colwill played 60 minutes in a behind closed doors friendly for U21s today. All went well. More good news for Chelsea. But as Rosenior makes clear, his return to the first team won’t be rushed…understandably everyone wants to make sure he’s fully good to go.”
Colwill is expected to sign a new contract with the club soon, committing his future to the club in a similar way to how Moises Caicedo has done.
The worst thing Chelsea can do now though is rush him back into action, potentially putting him in more danger when it comes to his fitness.
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Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley
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Chelsea facing defensive diIemma ahead of Manchester United clash
As well as Colwill, Chelsea are facing a number of other defensive injury woes ahead of their crucial clash with Manchester United.
Trevoh Chalobah remains sidelined, as well as Reece James, who Rosenior admitted still needed a bit more time before he could be considered for selection again.
This could force the manager to select one of his younger options in Josh Acheampong and Mamadou Sarr from the start.
Their opponents aren’t much better placed in terms of available defenders either. Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Mathijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro are all unavailable due to injuries and suspensions
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