Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Reece James will withdraw from the England squad as he needs another week to recover from a muscular injury.
England boss Gareth Southgate recently named James in his 25-man squad for this month’s international break.
Southgate said that the list might still change, but he wanted to give James, whom he described as an “exciting” full back, an opportunity.
Unfortunately, the 22-year-old is still nursing an injury he sustained in the win over Burnley earlier this month.
“The recommendation is that he does not go [to join the England squad],” Tuchel said after Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final win over Middlesbrough (via Football London) about James’ injury situation.
“He needs one more week of individual rehabilitation, and it’s not the job of the national team to do this.”
It is understandable that Chelsea would want their key player to focus on his recovery ahead of tough April fixtures, including the two-legged Champions League quarter-final tie against Real Madrid.
Tuchel also provided updates on two other Chelsea absentees in Middlesbrough win; Kepa Arrizabalaga and Jorginho.
“Kepa is will, and we gave Jorgi the chance to have a pause,” he explained.
“I decided to give him a break.”
Well, fortunately for Tuchel, despite Jorginho’s absence, he still had Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mateo Kovacic, as well as N’Golo Kante in the second half, as midfield options.
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