It was on the first day of pre-season last summer that the centre-back suffered a serious knee ligament injury that kept him out for the majority of the 2025/26 campaign.

The England international put in the rehabilitation work at Cobham and was able to feature during the month of the season, much to the delight of Chelsea supporters and our Academy graduate.

And now, as he prepares for the upcoming campaign under new manager Xabi Alonso, you can sense Colwill's desire to make this season a successful one.

‘I'm ready to go,’ the defender said ahead of the opening game of our pre-season tour of Australia and Asia, which is against A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers and can be viewed live on CFC+ tomorrow (Tuesday).

‘I think having a tiny taste [of match action] at the end of last season gave me that extra motivation to come back to pre-season with that fire in my belly. I’m ready to go again now and push on from here.

‘It was a really difficult time for me, with the injury. It happened on the first day of pre-season and it was really tough to get my head around. But I'm a strong believer that everything happens for a reason, so I just tried to take it in my stride and work my hardest to get back.

‘Thankfully I’m back now, and I feel like I'm a stronger person mentally and physically, and I feel like I'm a better person for it.’

The season will be met head-on by Colwill and his Chelsea team-mates, and the same can be said about Alonso, who has approached his start to life as Blues manager with real conviction and has impressed the players already.

No more so than Colwill, who expressed his delight at working under the Spaniard and offered an insight into the tactical setup Alonso may apply.

‘It's an honour to play under a manager like him,’ Levi said of Alonso. ‘He's been so good so far and the training sessions have been really enjoyable. He wants us to play, be brave on the ball as a team and that’s what I want to do even as a defender.

‘He wants us to express ourselves and have the freedom to play passes and show off your qualities on the ball, which is perfect for me as I like to create attacks and show off my passing range, which he allows me to do.

‘Hopefully, we can show that in the game tomorrow, which we are all really looking forward to.’

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