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There was a happy scene at their Cobham HQ on Thursday which, to Ben Chilwell, provided a perfect window into the Chelsea camp and confirmed bonds are being forged after their unprecedented upheaval.
'If you would have come into the changing room or the gym today and seen, we were all playing head tennis together, which wasn't part of the training session,' Chilwell said.
'Everyone was just down there playing. It was competitive. It was fun and I think that just shows we are all together and starting to really gel.
'The guys that have come in are all top guys. Brilliant footballers, everyone can see that, but around the training ground they all have a good attitude and want to get involved, which is so important.
'We had it at Leicester the year we won the league where everyone was so together. It was such a good group, which is the same as what we've got now.'
Ben Chilwell, 26, is fitter than ever and enthused by Chelsea's resurgence this season
The England defender is becoming an increasingly influential figure within Stamford Bridge
Chilwell, 26, is becoming an increasingly influential figure within it, sensing a growing responsibility and seniority for the first time as he walked out for his comeback start against Borussia Dortmund last month after Chelsea's influx of new talent since last summer left him feeling like one of their longest serving players.
In-form again, mentally and physically better than ever, England defender Chilwell is back in a good place.
But it is a point he has reached only after digging deep into his wells of resolve once more to overcome cruelly-timed injury.
An ACL knee injury brought Chilwell's campaign to an abrupt halt last season, ruling him out for six months after he had bounced back to his best following a disappointing Euro 2020 when he did not play a single minute of England's run to the final.
Then last November, in the final moments of Chelsea's Champions League win against Dinamo Zagreb, Chilwell tore his hamstring, a shattering setback that cost him his World Cup place and meant another three months out.
'When it happened, I thought 'okay, that doesn't feel right',' Chilwell began.
'I'd not done a muscle before so I don't really know the severity of it but the fact that I couldn't really walk off the pitch …
'The only thing that was going through my head of course was the World Cup. I knew it was just around the corner.
'It was a mixture of so many different emotions - confused, angry, disappointed, upset.
However, an ACL knee injury brought Chilwell's campaign to an abrupt halt last season
Then last November, Chilwell tore his hamstring, a setback that cost him his World Cup place
'To be honest, in that moment, that night, there wasn't a lot of hope because the World Cup is something you work towards, for 26 years in my case.'
'To have it taken away from you in literally just a moment, in the 93rd minute of a match you've already won, it's pretty difficult to take.
'Then you say 'Why did I do that run? It was the 93rd minute. Why don't I just clear the ball? Why did I try and dribble out?'
'You can't help but overthink. Everyone would in that situation. You don't sleep for a few weeks. It's the only thing that's really playing on your mind.
'Then eventually you get over that initial thought process and think about how you can move on.'
While some Qatar-bound players may have contemplated it, playing in a way to protect himself from injury as the World Cup loomed never entered Chilwell's mind.
Inevitably afterwards, though, there were thoughts of 'why me again?' but Chilwell continued: 'The ACL was difficult but when I came back I felt mentally stronger for it.
'With the hamstring and missing the World Cup after I got over that initial 'what's the point?', after that week or so, I thought pretty positively and remembered how I felt after my ACL.
'It's obviously an injury that sucks and I'm missing a World Cup but if I do the right things I'll come out in the same headspace again and have gone up another level where I'm mentally stronger again, physically even more fit than I was.
'I know for a fact I worked even harder in this rehab than I did in my ACL rehab which I didn't think was possible because I was giving everything to get back from it.
'After doing my hamstring it was 'touch wood, no more injuries now. You're going to have to go up another level again. Make sure your body is A1, the best condition it's ever been in.'
Experience has taught Chilwell it is not just training ground graft that is key to recovery
Doing things away from football that make him happy can also aid the recovery process
Benoit Badiashile, Wesley Fofana, Raheem Sterling and Chilwell at Chelsea Training Ground
Experience has taught Chilwell it is not just training ground graft that is key to recovery from injury.
What he eats, how much he sleeps and doing things away from football that make him happy like seeing his family more can also aid the process.
'Then when you come here, you're happier,' he explained. 'That then leads on to the pitch.
'It's just a knock on effect. When you're doing things away from football that make you happy and then give you the best chance when you're here.
'So especially for my hamstring injury that was a big thing I probably did more than they might have done in my career.'