Chelsea Captain Reece James has withdrawn from the England squad due to injury and has been immediately replaced by manager, Thomas Tuchel, Softfootball reports.
James was involved for Chelsea when they defeated Liverpool 2-1 at Stamford Bridge last weekend but in that game, he got injured and following medical assessments it was decided he starts treatment immediately.
Writing on his official X handle, Fabrizio Romano revealed that James is no longer part of the England squad set to face Wales on Thursday. He wrote:
England confirm Reece James has withdrawn from the squad after suffering an injury against Liverpool. Nico O’Reilly has been called up.
Interestingly, Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly has been called up as James’ replacement and it will be his first for the senior national team, having established himself with the England Under-21s.
The 20-year-old midfielder currently plays left-back for the Cityzens. This means Djed Spence is the only recognised right-back in England boss Thomas Tuchel’s squad ahead of the international matches.
O’Reilly made 21 appearances and scored five goals for the Manchester City last season after broke into their first team. He has been leaving his dream ever since he joined the club as an eight-year-old.
O’Reilly was part of Pep Guardiola’s squad at the Club World Cup in the summer and has made nine outings for City this season.
O’Reilly will hope to feature in at least one of the games when England face Wales on Thursday, 9 October and Latvia on Tuesday, 14 October.
