Gary Cahill admitted he has feared for his England spot amid Chelsea's nightmare season.
Chelsea have gone from champions to mid-table strugglers in less than 12 months during a poor season that has seen the club lose their most successful manager Jose Mourinho and struggle to 10th in the Premier League table after 30 games.
The 30-year-old has made 18 Premier League appearances this season, but has worked his way back into being a regular starter.
And Cahill said he was concerned about his chances of making Roy Hodgson's England team for Euro 2016, which starts in France in June.
"It’s been a tough season, I'll not lie. A tough season as everyone can see, with the changes and everything else," he said.
"I'm happy that I’m back in the team, especially leading up to an important tournament. That's where I was so concerned when I was out of the team. That was a concern for me.
"My concern was that if I wasn’t playing for Chelsea then I wouldn’t be picked for England, and I wasn't afraid to say that.
"No one wants to be satisfied sitting at a big club if you’re not playing every week. I’ve always been playing in my career.
"You're not going to play every game of every season, so you have to work harder when you're out. But it's important to be playing going into a big tournament.
"But moving forward, I feel fit, I'm playing okay at Chelsea. The most important thing is I’m back out on the field and can show what I can do."
Despite being part of a Chelsea defence that has conceded 41 goals in the league, those fears have proved unfounded with Cahill set to captain England against Germany on Saturday in the absence of injured forward Wayne Rooney.
