09 November 2023 , 22:30
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Reece James has been warned he is “risking” his Euros place after snubbing an England call-up.
Gareth Southgate spoke to the Chelsea defender ahead of naming his squad for this month’s Euro qualifiers and James claimed he was “not quite ready” after persistent injury problems. James missed the World Cup last year with a knee injury, has only just returned for Chelsea after a hamstring problem and decided to stay behind at his club to improve his fitness levels.
But Southgate has left Raheem Sterling out of his last three squads after the Chelsea forward did the same last June and the England boss did also warn James he is running out of time to win a place in next summer’s squad. When asked whether it was a gamble because of the competition at right back, Southgate said: “Well, there is and that’s the risk.
“He’s only got one more squad before the Euros. So he knows that. And he completely understands it. He has only really been able to be with us in March for the first part of the camp. But that’s been because he keeps having these moments where he breaks down so we knew he wasn’t 100 per cent. And I was clear, look, we understand that.
“We did discuss that and he was very keen to make clear: 'Look I don't want you to think I don't want to be there', and we had a really good long conversation and exchange of messages after that as well. But I'm very understanding.
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“His injury record is very... You can see the number of matches and the different phases. So we are all conscious that we want to have a fit Reece James that can play consecutive games. Because we can only take 23 to a finals and that physical reliability is going to be really important.
Reece James is back in action for Chelsea (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)Have your say! Will Reece James go to the Euros with England? Give us your prediction in the comments section.
“We’ve got belief in what he can do. And equally we’re going to learn a lot about him in the next few months playing as a full-back rather than a wing-back because that’s also a different role that’s going to have different demands.”
Chelsea captain James is seen as a big player for England but faces competition from Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Trent Alexander-Arnold while he has not completed a full 90 minutes yet and has played just 243 minutes across five games.