Chelsea defender Reece James has withdrawn from the England squad for the forthcoming friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast due to injury and will continue his recovery work back at Cobham during the international break.
The 22-year-old hasn't featured in the Blues' last four matches after sustaining a muscular injury in the victory over Burnley earlier this month. Yet that didn't stop Gareth Southgate from naming James in the Three Lions squad for the upcoming fixtures, which will be used as preparation for the 2022 World Cup.
Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel wasn't pleased England had selected James and stated after Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final win over Middlesbrough that the club's technical and performance advisor, Petr Cech, would be in contact with the FA about James' fitness and recovery work.
READ MORE: Chelsea's status as super club secure but report warns of one area new owners will trail rivals
"Petr Cech will have this chat because, of course, the recommendation is that he does not go. He is still in individual training, otherwise, we would have brought him to Lille and we would have brought him here for sure," said Tuchel.
"There is no doubt about it. He is still in individual training, he needs one more week of rehabilitation. I think we can provide this much better – it is not the job of the national team to do this."
Chelsea's request for James' withdrawal has been granted and he is one of four players, including fellow academy graduate Tammy Abraham, to pull out of the squad, as the FA have confirmed this evening, while also naming the quartet who will join up with the senior side.
"Crystal Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell and Southampton’s Kyle Walker-Peters have been rewarded with their first England senior call-ups," the FA said in a statement. "The pair of full-backs will also be joined in the squad by West Bromwich Albion’s Sam Johnstone and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins.
"This follows the withdrawal of Aaron Ramsdale, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James and Tammy Abraham through injury. It will be Mitchell’s first involvement with England at any level while Walker-Peters, a 2017 FIFA Under-20 World Cup winner, has amassed caps from Under-18 through to Under-21 level."
