Jamie Gittens sent back to Chelsea for ankle assessment
Jamie Gittens suffered an ankle injury during England Under-21’s 4-2 win over Kazakhstan and has been sent back to Chelsea for further evaluation.
Gittens forced off with ankle problem in Kazakhstan qualifier
Gittens started the UEFA Under-21 Euro 2027 qualifier at Molineux and had reportedly been playing well before he needed treatment and was forced off late in the first half. He was replaced by former Chelsea prospect Tyrique George. England went on to win 4-2, with Josh Acheampong getting on the scoresheet and Strasbourg’s Sam Amo-Ameyaw also featuring off the bench.
England Under-21 manager Lee Carsley confirmed it was an ankle problem and that Gittens would be sent back to Chelsea for further evaluation rather than assessed within the camp. The 22-year-old was spotted on crutches after the game, though no diagnosis or recovery timeline has been made public. It’s the latest entry in what’s shaping up to be a busy international break for Chelsea’s medical staff, as touched on in our recent Chelsea injury update.
The timing is far from ideal. Gittens has barely featured for Chelsea so far this season, continuing a difficult run that followed his big-money move from Borussia Dortmund last year. Last season didn’t go smoothly for him either, and his lack of game time under Xabi Alonso has already been a talking point, something we explored in our piece on his preseason standing and the competition for attacking places and again more recently when we looked at his situation and playing-time prospects heading toward January.
For now this is an immediate squad concern rather than a confirmed crisis. Chelsea won’t know Gittens’ actual availability until the club’s own medical staff have taken a proper look at the ankle, and until then any talk of a specific game or stretch of games he’ll miss would be getting ahead of the facts. Given how sparingly he’s been used domestically already this season, the practical impact on Alonso’s plans may end up being limited, but that’s a call for the medical team, not for guesswork.
The next step is straightforward: assessment at Chelsea, followed by whatever update the club or England choose to put out. Until that lands, the extent of the damage and any timeline for a return simply aren’t known.
In other news…
For the wider picture on who else is carrying knocks into the weekend, catch up on our latest Chelsea injury update.
If you want the fuller context on where Gittens stands in the pecking order, we broke it down in our look at his January future at Stamford Bridge.
And for how he got here in the first place, revisit our piece on his preseason under Alonso amid competition from Morgan Rogers and others.
