Reece James: England and Chelsea right-back ruled out for 'eight weeks' with knee injury
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kyle Walker and Reece James have all picked up injuries with the World Cup in Qatar a few weeks away; Chelsea have confirmed James will be sidelined for 'eight weeks' due to a knee problem; he is now unlikely to feature in Gareth Southgate's World Cup squad
Sunday 16 October 2022 18:29, UK
Reece James is set to be ruled out of England’s World Cup squad after Chelsea confirmed the right-back is expected to be sidelined for eight weeks with a knee problem.
The 22-year-old sustained the injury late in the second half of Tuesday's 2-0 victory at AC Milan in the Champions League and was withdrawn after receiving medical treatment on the pitch.
"Following the knee injury sustained in our away match against AC Milan, Reece has received treatment from the Chelsea medical department and visited a specialist this weekend," Chelsea said in a statement.
"After consultation between all parties, Reece will now undergo a rehabilitation programme and is expected to be out for eight weeks."
After Chelsea's 2-0 win against Aston Villa on Super Sunday, Graham Potter revealed James will be in a knee brace for a month.
"In terms of his involvement in the World Cup, I don't know, it will depend on how he recovers. He's in a brace for four weeks so that slows everything down.
"He is going to be in a brace and that has implications over what he needs to do to get fit from there.
"He is disappointed, naturally upset because he is injured for us. He misses games for us when he's in a fantastic moment. I thought his performance in Milan was incredible. He has got himself into a real good moment of form.
"He will give everything, he will fight and try his best to get back as quickly as he can. When he is he will be a top player.
"It wouldn't be my place to predict what will happen. Our job is to help him in the short term now and get him back."
But Potter had no issues with how the problem was handled after James spent an extra 24 hours in Milan.
"The boys had a couple of days free. Especially with the international players, sometimes you need to give them a break when you can and that was the idea," he said.
"Reece felt some discomfort the following day and came home and we got it assessed as quickly as we could. Nothing has got any worse because of how he acted in those times. Now we have to support him."
The World Cup begins on November 20, with England beginning their group campaign a day later against Iran.
England manager Gareth Southgate has seen three of his leading right-backs succumb to injury in recent weeks.
Manchester City's Kyle Walker is a major doubt to make Southgate's squad following a groin surgery, with his inclusion resting on his recovery, while Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold is also sidelined.
- England's World Cup squad ladder
- FIFA World Rankings: Brazil still top; England fifth
- Qatar 2022 World Cup fixtures and venues
Alexander-Arnold was ruled out for a fortnight after sustaining an ankle injury in Liverpool's 3-2 defeat at Arsenal last Sunday.
Who is available on standby?
By far and away the prime standby candidate to come into the England fold in the event of a right-back crisis is Ben White, who is excelling on the right of league leaders Arsenal's defence.
White's versatility makes him a classic 'Southgate player' when it comes to England - the manager has regularly picked and favoured players who can adopt multiple positions such as Walker, Trippier, Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling.
The Arsenal defender is naturally a centre-back but has been starring for the Gunners at right-back this term - while he can also feature at right centre-back in a three and - if needed - central midfield.
White's tactical game is diverse too. He started the season by adopting infield positions at right-back - but showed in recent matches against Tottenham and Liverpool that he can bomb forward around the outside of his right winger, this being England international Saka at Arsenal.
A part of the Euro 2020 squad two summers ago, White has some experience of being in a tournament football environment and - considering his last two England caps came in a right-back role - Southgate is facing real questions as to why the Arsenal defender is not in this autumn picture already.
Only two other right-backs have been selected by Southgate in the last 12 months - Southampton's Kyle Walker-Peters and Leicester full-back James Justin.
It's harder to compare the attacking qualities of full-backs from clubs currently battling at the wrong end of the table, but Justin certainly stands out at his club this term.
Formidable in the air, the 24-year-old has covered down both flanks and registered team-topping numbers for winning duels and blocking crosses.
But Justin also excels on the ball with only Harvey Barnes taking more touches on the ball or attempting more dribbles this season.
The only issue for Justin is that he is too similar in profile to Trippier in the way he can adopt both flanks - and with plenty of competition on those two areas, the 24-year-old seems too far down the queue for a realistic call-up.
As is the case with Justin, Walker-Peters' statistics are harder to contextualise with Southampton currently sat 17th in the table.
The radar below reveals an all-round effectiveness to his game, notably for attempting dribbles and crosses.
Based on historical returns, his high reading for goalscoring is arguably skewed due to the limited number of games so far - currently boosted by his solitary goal against Leeds in August.
However, the 25-year-old has proven his defensive attributes over the years and his above-average returns for winning duels exemplifies this best.
