Ben Chilwell insists Thomas Tuchel has left the door open to returning to the England team for the World Cup.
Chilwell's last England cap, his 21st in total, was in 2024 yet he has new hope of boarding the plane to North America next summer.
The left-back won the Champions League with Chelsea under Tuchel's leadership in 2021.
But injury problems set in. Chilwell tore his cruciate ligament at the end of 2021, then missed the 2022 World Cup with a hamstring injury.
He lost his Chelsea place when Enzo Maresca arrived and was forced to train alongside Raheem Sterling in a group of exiled players.
But his England hopes could be resurrected after a loan to Strasbourg in France.
"What a story it would be if I went to the World Cup after I was in the [Chelsea] bomb squad and everyone had counted me out 12 months prior," Chilwell told BBC.
"It would just be the biggest middle finger to so many people, which to me is a motivation.
"Chelsea were honest with me and there's no resentment, but of course I've got an ego, so it would be a nice feeling to prove some people wrong."
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He added: "Probably 99 out of 100 people are saying, 'No, he's not going, and it is impossible to go to the World Cup.'
"We've had conversations since he's got the job at England. I'll try and word it right - it has been said that it's not out of the equation."
Chilwell has been injury-free for two seasons and is thriving under the management of Liam Rosenior, who previously led Hull, at Strasbourg.