England coach Gareth Southgate has played down injury concerns for Chelsea fullback Reece James.

James has missed more matches than he has played for both club and country this season after suffering a serious knee injury, along with a further setback and is now delicately managing a hamstring issue.

The right-back was a key player for England before his run of injuries, starting in all four matches before the World Cup.

Unfortunately, he is unavailable to stake his claim against Ukraine at Wembley on Sunday and Southgate gave full details of James' withdrawal in his pre-match press conference.

“Reece has gone back, he's not completely happy with how his leg feels," Southgate said. “He was a little bit concerned about that earlier in the week."

Chelsea have struggled without one of their most important players this season, leading to manager Graham Potter seeking alternative options on the right side of defence.

Southgate has no long-term concerns about James' fitness, insisting that eventually he will overcome his run of injuries.

He added: “I think, probably for him, the injury after the injury that ruled him out of the World Cup has made him a little more cautious at this moment in time. It probably needs some time.

“It is not unusual to have a serious injury and then smaller injuries on the back of that. With Reece, it is a case of building his resilience to load and him being comfortable with that.

“With him, the club tends to play a game and we are a bit more cautious on the next one. He is a really good player and he has got absolutely everything and could be anything he wants to be. This is a temporary thing and hopefully he can overcome that pretty quickly."