Reese James withdrew from the England squad, with Nico O’Reilly intervening as his replacement. The Chelsea skipper was injured during a thrilling 2-1 home victory against Liverpool on Saturday. James, 25, is missing England’s friendly match against Wales this Thursday at Wembley. Thomas Tuschel’s team will face Latvia in the away World Cup qualifiers next Tuesday.
These matches could offer the opportunity for 20-year-old O’Reilly to make his senior England debut. Manchester City youth were first selected to Lee Carsley’s two-twenty-one teams, representing England in all age groups at the under-15 level. O’Reilly made his first team breakthrough under Pep Guardiola last season, playing a 90-minute full 90 minutes as City won Brentford 1-0 on Sunday.
Last month, the city’s left back was awarded a new five-year contract. Guardiola expressed his joy at the news, saying, “Rico Lewis, now Nico O’Reilly and Savinho are nearing, and past Reuben (DIAS) did it (signing a new contract).
“We want him and we put in the effort that we need to help him stay here for a long time. I’m really happy because Nico is growing up.
“Since he started playing, I think we’ve only lost one match in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace. Nico has helped us a lot. He’s improved his aggression.
James’ injuries are understood to be a cut in his shin. Despite the injuries, Chelsea’s right-back played the entire game, with Enzo Maresca’s team winning in a victory at Liverpool, and later revealed the extent of his injuries on social media.
This latest setback adds to the Blues’ escalating defensive crisis. Maresca already lacked four centre-backs ahead of Saturday’s game, and two had to leave the pitch due to injuries, but these were just precautions.
Willie Caballero answered questions after Maresca was sent to an overcongratulations following Chelsea’s last minute winner, telling journalists:
“They put a lot of effort today, but just prevented them. We’ve already spoken with them and they said they’re OK, so that’s good for us.”
