Trevoh Chalobah is in thoughtful mood in his exclusive interview with the matchday programme for tomorrow’s FA Cup quarter-final tie against Leicester City.
The centre-back reflects on his call-up to the bench for our last FA Cup final triumph, as an 18-year-old back in 2018, and discusses how his faith helped him to use his long period on the sideline this season to grow mentally stronger.
Trevoh Chalobah missed the first six months of the current campaign after suffering a recurrence of a hamstring injury but has started our last three games after returning as a substitute in our 1-1 draw at Manchester City last month. He explains about how he managed to remain positive throughout his lengthy rehab.
'I’m very religious and a lot of prayers and reading my bible has helped to give me that mindset and that peace,' he says.
'And smiling about everything. People might think I’m crazy but I actually enjoyed going through that process because it built up my faith, built me up mentally and physically as well.
'It made sure my body healed properly, and it’s really opened my mind to how life is and the important things to focus on, which was my health and my wellbeing… and the rest followed.'
Chalobah isn’t the only member of our 2018 FA Cup final squad involved this weekend. Willy Caballero was our substitute goalkeeper that day at Wembley, as we defeated Manchester United 1-0, and now the Argentinian is set for a Stamford Bridge return as assistant manager to Leicester boss Enzo Maresca.
He tells the programme what made his time at Chelsea so special and assesses the task ahead of his side as the Championship leaders pitch up in SW6 with a semi-final berth on the line.
'For us now, it’s a privilege to come to Stamford Bridge,' he explains. 'We’ve been playing good teams and getting very good results, but the most important thing is we have a good idea of playing that was reflected in the last rounds. It would be fantastic to come to Stamford Bridge and try to play the same way.
'It’s my first season coaching and I’m learning a lot. I just finished my playing career a few months ago. It’s another big challenge, but I’m enjoying it because it also gives me an opportunity to grow up as a person, as well as a coach, or possible manager in the future.'
You can read all about the history to this tie and all the info you need on the game ahead elsewhere in the programme, alongside columns from Mauricio Pochettino, Reece James, Emma Hayes, Daniel Finkelstein and our Academy coaches.
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