Reece James has indirectly sent Gareth Southgate a sly dig in a comment under Ivan Toney's latest Instagram post. The duo were both overlooked by the England boss when picking Three Lions squad ahead of the World Cup later this month.
The Chelsea defender was a huge doubt for the international tournament after suffering a knee injury in the Blues' 2-0 win over AC Milan last month. James 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 reports to keep them updated on the right-back's fitness and knee injury. And, according to The Sun, he had been told he could be fit in three weeks.
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Theoretically, that would see James become available for latter stages of the World Cup. But, to return with little to no match fitness or preparation made an England call-up very unlikely and Southgate decided against taking a risk.
Then, with regard to Toney, the England boss decided to take Callum Wilson instead because the Newcastle United striker has been enjoyed a 'really rich vein of form'. The Brentford striker has scored ten goals in the Premier League this season compared to his competitors' six.
As quoted by the Mirror, Southgate said: "For us, September was a good opportunity to have a look at Ivan on the training pitch, to learn a bit more about him, for him to see how we work. We knew and had discussed with him it was a long shot to be involved at this time in a World Cup.
"We’ve tracked all the players since. We think Callum’s just in that really rich vein of form and has been with us a little bit more, been on the pitch with us, we know him a little bit better."
Toney's omission from the England squad raised lots of eyebrows among large sections of the Three Lions fanbase and James has chipped in on the topic of discussion. With a crying with laughter emoji, the Chelsea defender commented under the striker's latest Instagram post: "If I speak I'm in trouble."
Lots of supporters on social media seem to think James is sending a sly dig to Southgate following the England squad announcement for the World Cup.
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