Reece James has pulled out of the England squad over a ‘minor’ injury and the Chelsea captain’s withdrawal is reportedly just precautionary.
James returned to the England setup this year under Thomas Tuchel after a two-year absence, partly down to injuries, but also due to immense competition at right-back.
He has been in good form so far this season and was due to link-up with the squad again for the upcoming friendly against Wales and World Cup qualifier in Latvia next week.
However, it was announced on Monday that James has withdrawn from the Three Lions squad, replaced by impressive Manchester City youngster Nico O’Reilly.
A statement from the England camp on Monday read: ‘Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly has received his first call up to the England senior squad.
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‘The 20 year old moves across from the MU21s squad and comes into contention for the Three Lions’ forthcoming fixtures against Wales and Latvia.
‘The inclusion of O’Reilly, who has been capped from MU15 through to MU20 level, follows the withdrawal of Reece James.
‘The Chelsea captain sustained an injury playing for his club over the weekend and has been ruled out of England’s October internationals following medical assessments.’
James played the full game as Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and it has not been made clear what the injury he sustained is.
Fabrizio Romano reports his withdrawal is precautionary, posting: ‘ Reece James’ injury seen as not serious, he won’t be out for long time as Chelsea are also optimistic.’
The Daily Mail report that the ‘minor issue’ is not related to the gash on his leg that James posted a picture of after the win over Liverpool.
Blues boss Enzo Maresca will be hoping James is available when his side return to action after the international break on October 18 at Nottingham Forest.
It is a packed schedule over the rest of the month as they then host Ajax in the Champions League, play Sunderland at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League and go to Wolves in the Carabao Cup before October ends.
James is far from the only injury headache for Maresca, with Levi Colwill and Liam Delap struggling with long-term issues.
There is hope that Cole Palmer could return from his groin problem after the international break, while Andrey Santos, Tosin Adarabioyo and Wesley Fofana should be available again for the trip to Forest.
Trevoh Chalobah will return from suspension as well, after being shown a red card in defeat to Brighton.
England squad to play Wales and Latvia
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Manchester City)
Defenders: Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City) Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur), John Stones (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (AC Milan), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona, loan from Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)