Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi out for rest of season after rupturing achilles

Callum Hudson-Odoi has to all intents been ruled out of England’s Nations League campaign in June after the teenager ruptured his achilles late in the first half of Chelsea’s damaging draw with Burnley.

The winger, so impressive on his first senior appearances for Gareth Southgate’s squad against the Czech Republic and Montenegro last month, was carried around the touchline by medical staff and later left the stadium on crutches. The 18-year-old later tweeted: “Really gutted to end my season with a ruptured achilles. Gotta work hard and try and come back stronger for next season.”

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His absence constitutes a considerable blow to Southgate, whose captain, Harry Kane, is also a doubt for the semi-final against the Netherlands after damaging ankle ligaments in Tottenham Hotspur’s Champions League victory over Manchester City earlier this month.

Chelsea will conduct scans on Hudson-Odoi’s injury but are braced for them to confirm the worst and the forward to face months of rehabilitation ahead. “It’s not an easy one,” said the assistant first-team coach, Gianfranco Zola. “I think it’s a serious injury. It’s his achilles tendon. I cannot tell you the extent of it. I don’t know – he’ll have to have an examination but it’s not looking good. I don’t know if it’s ruptured.”

Hudson-Odoi has excelled for Maurizio Sarri’s team over recent weeks after finally making his first Premier League start in the recent 3-0 victory over Brighton. The player had previously been frustrated at a lack of first-team opportunities and even handed in a formal transfer request in January in the hope of forcing through a move to Bayern Munich.

Yet there had been hopes building within the club’s hierarchy that the youngster, a product of Chelsea’s academy, could yet commit his future beyond the expiry of his current contract in 2020 given his recent progress.