Gary Cahill has spoken of the “rollercoaster” of having to fight for his place for club and country after a frustrating season in which he has been dropped by both.

The 32-year-old has returned to the Chelsea team of late, after losing his place, and captained them to their FA Cup semi-final victory over Southampton on Sunday.

His up-and-down season has put his World Cup place in jeopardy, however, with Gareth Southgate having left Cahill out of his recent England squad.

Cahill remains optimistic that he can make the final 23 for Russia. “Everything is a possibility when you're playing,” he said, adding: “We have gone into the [FA Cup] final and the World Cup is coming so let's wait and see.”

Having been dropped by Chelsea Cahill has had to fight his way back. “Football is a bit of a rollercoaster. It is not always going to go amazingly well but if you look over my career since I have started the majority of my career I have played 30 plus games every season,” the central defender said. “Twice I haven't. This season and the time we finished 10th.”