England manager Gareth Southgate has stated that he could not pick Reece James for his World Cup squad.

The Three Lions coach has decided against including the Chelsea right-back, who is recovering from injury at present.

Southgate was asked about including Kyle Walker from Manchester City, but not giving James the same chance to prove his fitness until the last moment.

He said, “We had to make a difficult call with Reece James but he wasn't going to be available until the latter end of the tournament if everything weren't perfectly. There's too many unknowns on the road to recovery.

“And it's a bit arrogant to bring someone who isn't available for the group. Then you'd be dropping him into maybe a quarter-final after eight weeks out and that would be really demanding.

“Tough call. Kyle is a long way ahead of that and progressing really well. Kyle is a little bit different. He's not back in full training yet but he'll be available before the end of the group stage."