DAN BURN has emerged as a surprise contender for a call-up to England’s World Cup squad – with Ben Chilwell the latest player to suffer an injury that puts his place in Qatar in serious doubt.

Chilwell suffered a hamstring injury in the dying seconds of Chelsea’s Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.

The left-back is currently being assessed by Chelsea’s medical staff, but with England’s opening World Cup game against Iran just two-and-a-half weeks away, Graham Potter has admitted his chances of recovering in time to feature “did not look good”.

Chilwell’s absence would be another major headache for Gareth Southgate, who has already seen his full-back options on the opposite flank decimated through injury.

Luke Shaw and Chilwell were almost certain to be Southgate’s two left-back selections in his 26-man squad, so while the former remains available, he will have to come up with an alternative to the latter if he is ruled out.

Tyrick Mitchell was handed two caps in March, and would come into the reckoning if Chilwell was unavailable, but he did not feature in England’s Nations League matches in June and September and found himself left out of Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace side earlier this season, such was his faltering form.

Tottenham’s Ryan Sessegnon would be another option, but Burn’s impressive start to the season with Newcastle could see him leapfrog both players to make it onto the plane to Qatar, even though he has no previous international experience.

Burn has played at left-back with both Brighton and Newcastle, and while he would not be an attacking full-back option, his defensive capabilities might well appeal to Southgate given the number of goals England were conceding during their ill-fated Nations League campaign.

With the England boss having alternated between playing with five at the back and a flat back four throughout his time in charge, Burn’s ability to play at both full-back and centre-half could be another key factor that works in his favour.

Southgate has already submitted a provisional 55-man longlist, although the details of who made the cut at that stage have not been made public.

He is due to announce his final 26-man squad on November 10, although further changes will be possible before the start of the tournament in the event of injuries.