Gareth Southgate admits it was "very difficult" to leave Reece James out of his England squad - but fears it would have been "arrogant" to take the Chelsea defender to the World Cup.
The Three Lions boss unveiled his 26-man squad for the Qatar tournament on Thursday afternoon, with no room for right-back James. The 22-year-old had already confirmed one day earlier he would not be travelling to the Middle East after suffering a major knee injury during a Champions League fixture against AC Milan in October.
James worked tirelessly to recover and prove his fitness to no avail. In his absence, Southgate has selected Newcastle's Kieran Trippier and Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold as his main options on the right of defence, with Arsenal's Benjamin White and Manchester City's Kyle Walker also able to play in the role.
