Reece James has withdrawn from the England squad, with the uncapped Nico O’Reilly stepping in as his replacement. The Chelsea skipper sustained an injury during their thrilling 2-1 home victory against Liverpool on Saturday. James, 25, will now be absent for England’s friendly match against Wales at Wembley this Thursday. Thomas Tuchel’s team then take on Latvia in an away World Cup qualifier next Tuesday.
These matches could provide the opportunity for 20-year-old O’Reilly to make his senior England debut. The Manchester City youngster was initially selected for Lee Carsley’s under-21 squad, having represented England at every age group from under-15 level. O’Reilly played the full 90 minutes as City triumphed over Brentford 1-0 on Sunday, having made his first-team breakthrough under Pep Guardiola last season.
Last month, the City left-back was awarded a new five-year contract. Guardiola expressed his delight at the news, stating: “Rico Lewis, now Nico O’Reilly, Savinho is close and in the past Ruben (Dias) has done it (signed a new contract) as well.
“We want him, so we did the effort that we need to help him stay here longer. I’m really pleased because Nico is growing a lot.
“Since he started playing, I think we have lost just one game in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace. Nico helped us a lot, he improved his aggression, [he’s dangerous] from set-pieces, with the ball and we are really pleased.”
James’ injury is understood to be a gash on his shin. Despite the injury, the Chelsea right-back played the entire match, aiding Enzo Maresca’s team in their victory over Liverpool, and later revealed the extent of his injury on social media.
This latest setback adds to an escalating defensive crisis for the Blues. Maresca was already short of four centre-backs ahead of Saturday’s game, with two more having to leave the pitch due to injuries – although these were merely precautionary measures.
Willy Caballero, answering questions after Maresca had been sent off for excessive celebration following Chelsea’s last-minute winner, told journalists: “The two central defenders, it was just prevention.
“They made a great effort today, but just prevention. We spoke with them already and they said that they are okay, so [it is] good for us.”