England play Bulgaria and Kosovo in European Qualifiers
Wednesday 4 September 2019 06:16, UK
Manchester United right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka has pulled out of the England squad with a back injury.
Wan-Bissaka, who had been called up to England's senior side for the first time, will miss the European Qualifiers against Bulgaria and Kosovo after returning to his club for treatment.
Gareth Southgate, the England manager, has no plans to call up a replacement at right-back with Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold and Atletico Madrid's Kieran Trippier already in the now 24-man squad.
It comes as a blow for the 21-year-old who was looking to get his first taste of senior international football.
Southgate left out his first-choice right-back, Manchester City's Kyle Walker, to give Wan-Bissaka and Alexander-Arnold an opportunity to get game-time under their belt ahead of Euro 2020.
Meanwhile, Trippier, who was left out of England's Nations League squad,has been brought back into the fold following his move to Atletico Madrid from Tottenham.
"We're really looking at him (Wan-Bissaka) and Trent (Alexander-Arnold) - that's the reason, on this occasion, Kyle Walker's not with us - we think it's an opportunity to have a look at two young players," said Southgate.
"We talked about the number of games we've got ahead of next summer, we think we need to see them quickly and we wanted to reintegrate Kieran Trippier back into the group so he knows he is still on our radar.
"He's had a huge move to Atletico Madrid, frankly, that goes under the radar here - and has started the season really well. It is an area of the pitch we have a lot of quality.
"Kyle Walker has started the season really well so I've explained the rationale to him. They all have completely different strengths and we're looking forward to helping some of them develop."
