Gareth Southgate has decided to leave Reece James out of the England squad ahead of the World Cup later this month, according to reports. The 22-year-old defender was a huge doubt for the international tournament after suffering a knee injury in Chelsea's 2-0 win over AC Milan last month.
According to the Mirror, the Three Lions boss has told James that he will not be included in the 26-man squad amid fear of aggravating the right-back's injury. The Cobham graduate was set to be out of action for eight weeks but, after being flown out to Dubai to step up his rehabilitation, he began to recover ahead of schedule.
It's said that the Blues had been sending the FA frequent reports regarding James' fitness and knee stability. And, according to The Sun earlier this week, he's been told he could be fit in three weeks.