More injuries pile up for England: James out for Qatar?

A new name on the list of injured national team players is Reece James. Chelsea's right-back was injured in the recent match against AC Milan in the Champions League. He was replaced after an hour of play, but at the time it didn't seem serious. However, subsequent examinations revealed that the extent of the injury was worse than first thought. The latest news from London is that James is facing a six to eight-week layoff and is a question mark for the World Cup in Qatar.

The knee ligaments are damaged and James will be in a race against time to recover before the World Cup, which starts in a month and a half. What is certain is that he will not be in Chelsea’s team until the World Cup. There is even mention of the possibility of a minor operation in order for the great defender to gain time and catch the last train to Qatar. Whichever method of recovery he chooses, it is certain that he will not be fully fit for the start of the championship in Qatar, but at least he could make himself available to coach Southgate.

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However, the question is whether Southgate will be able to take the risk with James as he is already in trouble at right-back. Kyle Walker is already a question mark for Qatar, and Trent Alexander-Arnold was injured recently. In ideal conditions, Southgate prefers a formation with three in the back line plus attacking full-backs. In that formation, Walker is the right-stopper and James is the right-winger. When England starts with four in the back row, then Walker is the right-back and James the reserve.

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However, now both are injured and in a race against time for Qatar. It will not be a surprise if both are left off the final roster as their estimated recovery time coincides with the start of the World Cup. In that case, the door to the starting line-up would be opened for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has lost the trust of Gareth Southgate in recent months and has been playing quite poorly for Liverpool in recent weeks. TAA has lost credit and until recently there was speculation that he might be skipped over to the list for Qatar. Now his chances are increasing, but he also has a minor ankle injury that will cause him to miss the next few matches.

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What are the other options? Previously, Kyle Walker-Peters was called up, but he is in poor form at Southampton and Southgate never called him up for the Nations League matches. A much more serious option is Kieran Trippier, who has been a regular on the national team list since this summer and is playing well for Newcastle. No one mentions Aaron Van Bissaka as a serious option.