Nathaniel Chalobah is facing a race against the clock to keep his World Cup dream alive – because Watford do not expect him back in first-team action before March.
Head coach Marco Silva admits his midfield linchpin is “two or three weeks away, maybe more” from returning to training with the Hornets' first team squad.
That would leave Chalobah, 23, little time to prove his fitness and regain match sharpness before England's friendly double bill against Holland and Italy at the end of March.
Three Lions coach Gareth Southgate had earmarked Chalobah for a midfield holding role in England's World Cup squad before the former Chelsea prodigy suffered a hairline stress fracture of his left kneecap four months ago.
If Chalobah misses the international dates in March, it would leave only England's final warm-up games with Nigeria and Costa Rica in June for him to be integrated into the team.
Silva remains upbeat about Chalobah's hopes of making the cut for Russia 2018, insisting: “I'm sure – and that is a strong word – that he will have time to do everything. When he comes back, and I hope it is as soon as possible, it will just be a matter of regaining confidence because the quality is there.
“He will not have lost his skills and everybody is ready to support him to come back at a good level when he starts to work with us again.
“Only if he does that can he achieve other things (with England). He reached the national team because he was doing really well and we will give him all the help to work hard and play in the right way.”
Speaking for the first time about the nature of Chalobah's injury, which required surgery, Silva revealed: “It was unusual – a fractured kneecap, a small crack. It was something he started to feel, it was stress.
“For now the most important thing is when he starts working with us. He can return in two or three weeks, maybe a little bit later, and after that it is a matter of training sessions and we will see when he can play.”