England call up late replacement for injured Nico O’Reilly

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Thomas Tuchel has belatedly called up a replacement for the injured Nico O’Reilly, with Manchester City teammate Rico Lewis being added to the England squad.

O’Reilly completed 90 minutes in England’s Nations League opener earlier in the international window but made a crucial error for Spain’s second goal as the Three Lions fell to a 3-2 defeat.

The 21-year-old left-back then missed England’s 2-0 victory over Czech Republic in Prague after suffering an injury in training and was sent back to his club for “further assessment” ahead of Saturday’s 7-0 thrashing of Croatia in Rijeka.

Nico O’Reilly played against Spain before getting injured in training (Getty)

In the aftermath of O’Reilly’s departure, the Football Association (FA) confirmed that no replacement would be added to the squad, with a statement reading: “Nico O’Reilly has returned to Manchester City and will play no part in the forthcoming Uefa Nations League fixtures.

“No further replacements are planned as the Three Lions prepare to face Croatia in Rijeka on Saturday before returning to Wembley to take on Czechia on Tuesday.”

As the statement intimates, England have one game left in this extended international window, with Czech Republic visiting Wembley on Tuesday evening, and the FA have changed their stance, with Lewis now being given a call-up.

The 21-year-old has been promoted from Lee Carsley’s under-21s squad, whom he helped secure qualification for the 2027 U21 European Championships earlier in this international break.

Rico Lewis has been promoted from the under-21s squad (Getty)

Lewis has won five caps for the senior England team, with his debut coming against North Macedonia in November 2023 and his most recent cap coming a year later against Greece.

He is yet to play a match under Tuchel but could be in line to make his first international appearance for 23 months against the Czechs, with Lewis Hall the only other full-time left-back in the squad.

The Newcastle star played 90 minutes in the win over Czech Republic and started against Croatia before Myles Lewis-Skelly – who is more often utilised in midfield these days – replaced him late on.

Hall impressed in both matches but Tuchel may deem three games in a week a needless workload for the 22-year-old, perhaps giving Lewis the chance to shine at full-back.

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