Two players were absent from the England squad due to injury, and manager Thomas Tuchel called in two substitutes. The Three Lions will conclude their World Cup qualifying campaign this month with games against Serbia and Albania. They have already qualified for next summer’s tournament and have won all of their matches so far without conceding a goal.
Marc Gehi sustained a leg injury while playing for Crystal Palace in the Conference League against AZ Alkmaar last week. He is on international duty, but it is unclear whether he will be able to play against Serbia or Albania. Trevor Chalobah was called up to provide cover in the center of defence.
Chalobah has been a regular for the Blues this season, missing just one Premier League game due to suspension. He scored twice for the Blues, but also came under criticism for his red card against Brighton in September.
He was first called up to the England national team in May, making his debut in the friendly defeat against Senegal, but this is his only international appearance to date.
Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that Newcastle duo Anthony Gordon and Nick Pope have withdrawn from the squad, with the former recovering from a hip injury and the latter suffering from concussion.
James Trafford was drafted to replace Pope, but no additional forward has yet been called up to replace Gordon.
“Chelsea’s Trevor Chalobah and Manchester City’s James Trafford have joined the England squad,” the FA said in a statement.
“This follows the withdrawal of Newcastle United duo Anthony Gordon and Nick Pope due to injury and concussion respectively.
“Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi has been placed on international duty and will continue to be assessed in the coming days.”
Palace manager Oliver Glasner has confirmed that Guech’s injury was not a long-term setback, and he is not expected to miss any significant amounts of time.
“He couldn’t sleep all night and was in so much pain that we checked him the next day and found that he had severe bone bruising,” Glasner said.
“He’s been walking with crutches for the last two days and couldn’t even take a step. Luckily nothing was broken, but he can’t even walk at the moment.”
“It looks like he will miss the England game but will probably be back training and available again within 10 to 14 days.”
