Drinkwater declined a call up to the England for matches against Germany and Brazil (Getty)

Danny Drinkwater has destroyed his hopes of going to the World Cup next summer by rejecting England boss Gareth Southgate’s latest call-up, according to reports.

The Chelsea midfielder, who has only just made his return from injury, withdrew himself from selection for matches against Germany and Brazil this week.

And, according to The Sun, that decision has angered Southgate, who is now set to axe him entirely from his World Cup plans despite currently dealing with a massive injury crisis.

Southgate confirmed at his pre-match press conference ahead of Friday’s game against Germany that Drinkwater ‘felt he was not ready yet to play at this level’.

The former Leicester City man has only played 70 minutes for Chelsea across four appearances since making his return from injury.

Southgate is said to be privately disappointed with Drinkwater’s decision (Picture: Getty)

While expressing understanding with that decision in public, privately Southgate is said to be disappointed with his choice – especially with so many players unavailable.

Tottenham’s Danny Rose, for example, is hoping to use his time away with the England squad to gain extra sharpness after almost a year-long absence.

Drinkwater has only recently returned to Chelsea training following a long-term injury (Getty)

Asked whether Drinkwater would be given another chance in March, when the next round of friendlies are, Southgate said: ‘I’ve no idea. We might have other players back by then.’

Chris Sutton was particularly critical of Drinkwater’s decision, and believes he will not receive enough game time at Chelsea to get back in Southgate’s thinking.

Drinkwater made his Chelsea debut in the Carabao Cup at the end of October (Picture: Getty)

‘Danny Drinkwater has made the biggest mistake of his career in snubbing Southgate,’ Sutton told the Daily Mail.

‘His chances of playing at the World Cup are surely over and future England managers – never mind Southgate – will not want to touch him.’