Chelsea stars missed the heatwave hitting the UK but were met by high temperatures as they stepped up their pre-season preparations with a trip to the United States.
The Blues are on a training camp in Los Angeles as Thomas Tuchel starts to plan his tactics for the 2022/23 season, which starts in earnest with a trip to Everton in the Premier League on August 6.
Chelsea will train for the rest of the week before a friendly against Club America on Sunday, followed by another fixture against Charlotte FC next week, and then a match against Arsenal in the Florida Cup.
Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Ross Barkley and the rest of the Chelsea squad certainly looked ready for action as they worked out under Tuchel's watch as temperatures hit the 80s at Drake Stadium in Los Angeles.
Defender Ben Chilwell was with them and he said he is determined to nail down a starting spot in the England side for the World Cup in Qatar following a “difficult” time in his career.
Chilwell was selected in Gareth Southgate's squad for the European Championship last year but did not make a single appearance in their run to the final, where they lost to Italy.
He then struggled for game time at Chelsea and was largely overlooked in August and September before scoring three goals in three games in October, as well as a World Cup qualifying goal for England.
However, he picked up an anterior cruciate ligament injury in November which sidelined him until a substitute appearance in Chelsea's last league game of the season in May.
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“I've dreamt of playing in a World Cup since I can remember and to know it's just around the corner is more motivation than you can know to try and seal that spot down,” Chilwell said.
“Not just for myself but for my family – especially after the Euros in what was a difficult time for me. Over the next three or four months I'm just going to do everything that I can to try and make sure that is my spot.”
In the gallery above, you can see images from Chelsea training in California. To move on to the next image, click on the arrows, or if you're using a mobile device, simply swipe.
