Fitness Concerns Force Chelsea Duo to Withdraw From England Under-21 Squad

Chelsea youngsters Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah were called up by Three Lions manager Aidy Boothroyd to join England’s Under-21. However, fitness issues force them to leave the squad.

James and Chalobah were part of the 23-man team that would play against Slovenia on Friday and Austria on Tuesday. However, James was not present when they travelled to Slovenia after he injured himself. He recently returned to action for Chelsea after he picked up an ankle injury while playing for the country’s Under 20 World Cup in June.

Currently, his injury forces him to withdraw from Under-21 squad and will only mean that he will not be leaving Stamford Bridge during the international break and will, therefore, miss out the chance to be capped as Under-21. The 19-year-old has made two appearances for Chelsea this season. He also started in the Blues’2-1 Champions League win over Lille recently.

The 20-year-old Chalobah has likewise withdrawn from the squad for precautionary measures. He is currently playing for Huddersfield Town on loan.

And while the duo will surely miss the chance to be part of the country’s Under-21, Callum Hudson-Odoi is looking sharp as he looks to build up his match fitness. He will reportedly stay with the team following positive development on his Achilles tendon injury.

Another Blues player, Marc Guehi will also be part of the Under-21 team. It will be Guehi’s first call up after he was featured in the Carabao Cup against Grimsby Town.

After James and Chalobah dropped out of international duty due to injury, Boothroyd called up Omar Richards of Readings. Norwich’s Todd Cantwell will also miss the opportunity to play for the Under 21 squad due to hamstring injury. He had an impressive start with Norwich this season, scoring twice in eight games.

England’s Under 21 are sitting on the top of their group with two wins from two matches.