Four players have withdrawn from England’s squad for upcoming friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast.
Reece James, a Chelsea defender, has withdrawn from England’s squad for the upcoming friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast due to injury and will continue his recovery work at Cobham during the international break.
The 22-year-old hasn’t played in the Blues’ last four games since suffering a muscle injury against Burnley earlier this month. Nonetheless, Gareth Southgate named James to the Three Lions squad for the upcoming matches, which will serve as preparation for the 2022 World Cup.
Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel was unhappy with England’s selection of James and stated following Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final win over Middlesbrough that the club’s technical and performance advisor, Petr Cech, would contact the FA about James’ fitness and recovery work.
Petr Cech will have this conversation because, of course, it is not recommended that he go. He is still in individual training; otherwise, we would have brought him to Lille and, without a doubt, brought him here,” Tuchel explained.
“There is no question about it. He is still in individual training and will require one more week of rehabilitation. I believe we can provide this much better – it is not the national team’s responsibility to do so.”
Chelsea’s withdrawal request has been granted, and James is one of four players, including fellow academy graduate Tammy Abraham, to pull out of the squad, the FA confirmed this evening, while also naming the quartet who will join up with the senior side.
Tyrick Mitchell of Crystal Palace and Kyle Walker-Peters of Southampton have received their first England senior call-ups “According to a statement issued by the FA. “The pair of full-backs will be joined in the squad by Sam Johnstone of West Bromwich Albion and Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa.
This comes after Aaron Ramsdale, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James, and Tammy Abraham were forced to withdraw due to injuries. Mitchell will be making his first appearance for England at any level, while Walker-Peters, a FIFA Under-20 World Cup qualifier in 2017, will be making his debut.
