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The youngster has been brought in to replace Chelsea’s Reece James, who has withdrawn from Thomas Tuchel’s group in yet another injury setback.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.
Nico O’Reilly, pictured arriving for England duty on Monday for the first time, was called up to the squad after Reece James’ withdrawal due to injury
Reece James shared an image of this gash on his leg after Chelsea’s win over Liverpool but it is not yet known whether that is the issue that led to his withdrawal
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 shared a picture of a gash on his leg following Chelsea’s dramatic win over Liverpool on Saturday, though that is not thought to be the injury leading to his withdrawal.
It has now been revealed that James suffered an injury during his side’s late 2-1 win over Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, in which he completed the full 90 minutes while others were forced off the field because of their own issues. The precise problem has not yet been specified.
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.
O’Reilly has already earned the trust of Pep Guardiola and made impressive strides
James completed 90 minutes against Liverpool and showed superb leadership in the game
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.
