Reece James will not travel with England to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
- Planet Sport writer
- 9 November 2022
Chelsea defender Reece James appears to have lost his race against time to recover from the knee injury he picked up against AC Milan in the Champions League.
The 22 year old had hoped to do enough to convince England head coach Gareth Southgate to included in his preliminary 26-man squad being announced on Thursday.
However, it appears as if that will not be the case after news emerged that Southgate called James on Monday evening to let him know his name would not be called.
According to reports, Southgate was keen to take the youngster to Qatar but was just not willing to take the risk that he may not be able to play any part in the tournament and preferred other options.
The news is likely to have been devastating to James who has been repeatedly quoted in the media expressing his keeness to travel with England to the World Cup.
There is no doubt he is on the mend as he has been seen doing some light jogging and training with the Chelsea first team but it is clear he is nowhere near full fitness and including him in the squad would be a big risk.
Right back could turn into a bit of a problem area for England at the Fifa showpiece with Kyle Walker also an injury concern at this time.
