Reece James’s England call-up is misunderstanding as he’s training in pool, asserts Thomas Tuchel

With Reece James limping out of Chelsea’s clash against Manchester City last weekend, many feared the worse especially after the full-back didn’t play in the mid-week game against Juventus. But with Thomas Tuchel confirming that James was injured, it shocked fans and critics that England handed the 21-year-old a call-up for the upcoming international break. The Three Lions face Andorra and Hungary in their World Cup Qualifiers campaign with James named as a part of Gareth Southgate’s 23 man squad.

That has come as a shock to Thomas Tuchel as well and the German admitted that he thought that England picked the wrong James or that maybe he “was called up to the England water polo team”. The Chelsea boss went on to explain that the full-back is currently only fit enough to train in the pool and thus this all has to be a mis-understanding because of a lack of communication.

"I thought maybe Reece was called up to the England water polo team because he trains in the pool. I was a bit surprised, but I understand he was selected. This will not happen, because he's training in the pool. It can only be a misunderstanding," Tuchel said, reported Sky Sports.

"Imagine if every international coach calls the coach? Nobody could reach me anyway. The club is in touch, and [Chelsea technical director] Petr Cech sorts these things out. It can happen."