Good news for England as Chelsea star is ‘ahead of schedule’ in recovery

England manager Gareth Southgate is expected to name his 26-man squad for the upcoming World Cup on 10 November, meaning there is less than a week until the announcement. 

There are still several question marks remaining over possible inclusions and exclusions, with several players still hopeful of being included in the squad for the showpiece event.

Southgate has also had to take into account a number of injuries suffered by players, including Chelsea duo Reece James and Ben Chilwell.

The former has been sidelined for a few weeks now, since suffering a knee injury against AC Milan in October, while Chilwell pulled up with an apparent hamstring injury in the closing stages of The Blues’ 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday.

Both had initially been expected to miss the World Cup, dealing Southgate a huge blow, but it appears that there is now good news on James’ progress.

As reported by The Evening Standard, the right-back is quietly confident of being included in Southgate’s squad.

The report claims that the player will urge Southgate to include him even if he isn’t fully fit.

He has also told friends that he is confident of his chances of being included in the squad.

James is hopeful of being included in Southgate’s World Cup squad

Southgate has previously picked players for tournament squads despite them being short of full fitness, with both Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson being included in the Euro 2020 group despite being unfit.

Initially, the prognosis was that James would be unavailable for around eight weeks, however the player has reportedly been using his knee brace less often than expected.

The defender, who travelled to Dubai as part of his rehabilitation last week, had started this season in superb form.

The 22-year-old has scored two goals and provided two assists in 11 games across all competitions, and Chelsea’s form initially dipped in his absence.

In total, he has already made more than 130 appearances for his boyhood club since graduating from their Cobham academy.

The Englishman has played a crucial role for The Blues since progressing into the first team, and manager Graham Potter will be hoping to have him back as soon as possible.