Chelsea winger Hudson-Odoi feared for career after Achilles injury

Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi admits he feared for his career after rupturing his Achilles last season.

The 18-year-old suffered the injury in April and missed Chelsea’s Premier League run-in along with the victory over Arsenal in the Europa League final in May.

Hudson-Odoi made his first league appearance of the season in the 2-0 defeat of Brighton and Hove Albion on September 28 after scoring in the 7-1 EFL Cup win over Grimsby Town.

However, he concedes there were moments when he questioned if he would play again during his initial recovery.

“I wondered if I would be able to play again; that was my first thought,” he told Sky Sports. “I knew I’d done something really serious so I was really concerned, but my family kept me confident that I’d be back to how I was.

“There were days when I would go into training and I would be sad or disappointed because I could see the boys outside training and you just want to be out there with them.

“So, I had the dark days but, at the same time, I had positive days as well.

“When [the injury] came, it was more anger for me because everything was going as I wanted it to go. I was playing games, I’d got called to the national team… everything was going perfectly.

“There were big games coming up. But I knew when I came back I’d be stronger than I was before.

“I was out for three to four months and it was crazy to even get the injury in the first place. It’s something I had to deal with mentally because I’d never experienced an injury like that before.

“I’m really delighted with the way I’ve come back. I didn’t expect to get this many assists and to contribute with a goal as well. Hopefully, I’ll keep improving and adding goals to my game.”