Manchester City’s 20-year-old star Nico O’Reilly has received his first call up to the England senior squad.
The youngster has been brought in to replace Chelsea’s Reece James, who has withdrawn from Thomas Tuchel’s group in yet another injury setback.
O’Reilly will be in contention to play in the games against Wales and Latvia during the international break.
Having already earned the trust of Pep Guardiola, the defender’s meteoric rise to the England set-up comes after just 10 Premier League starts.
O’Reilly has been in the younger England age group sides for years, earning caps from U15s to U20 level.
And his superb form to start the season at City, where he has featured nine times across all competitions, clearly impressed Tuchel.
The tall, silky full-back and midfielder, was also recently rewarded for his progress with a new City contract that takes him up to 2030.
His gain is James’ loss, however, and Chelsea fans will be concerned about the nature of the injury-prone right-back’s latest issue.
James’ injury is separate to the cut he suffered in his leg against Liverpool, which he shared on his Instagram.
But his issue is being described as minor, not major, and his withdrawal from the squad is purely precautionary. James likewise pulled out of one line-up at the Club World Cup after listening to his body’s warning signs and this is believed to be a similar situation.
It comes at a time when Enzo Maresca has been losing multiple defenders to issues with Josh Acheampong and Benoit Badiashile among those who were also forced into substitutions.
Tosin Adarabioyo and Wesley Fofana likewise missed the Liverpool win, while Levi Colwill remains sidelined by his ACL injury.
Chelsea finished that game with a back four made up of full backs.
England are due to face Wales and Latvia this month, with Thomas Tuchel having been present at Chelsea matches previously to keep tabs on players including James.
He was Chelsea’s only representative named in Tuchel’s squad.
James has suffered with persistent injuries during his time at Chelsea and struggled to put a consistent run of games together.
Multiple hamstring problems led to him going under the knife in 2023 and he has also had problems with his ankles and knees.
His nightmare dates back to 2019 and since then he is listed by Flashscore as having endured 23 injuries leading to lay-offs during a physically and mentally gruelling time for the 25-year-old.
Enzo Maresca and Chelsea fans will hope his latest problem is minor and that James can use the international break to recover.
England’s first fixture of the international break is on Thursday against Wales at Wembley in a friendly.
And they then travel to Latvia next Tuesday for another 7:45pm kick-off in a World Cup qualifier.
Tuchel’s men currently top their group with five wins from five and the maximum 15 points, while Latvia sit in fourth with a win and one draw from their campaign so far.
