England defender, Reece James, will miss the 2022 Qatar World Cup after he failed to recover from the knee injury he picked up in Chelsea’s match against AC Milan in October.
James flew to Dubai to undergo an intensive rehabilitation programme in an attempt to be fit for Qatar and was even doing some tentative running at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground in recent days.
However, the Chelsea right-back, in a statement shared on his verified Twitter handle on Wednesday, said: “Devastated. The minute I injured my knee, I knew the turnaround to make the World Cup would be tight, but I always felt it was possible.
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“I’ve worked harder than I ever thought I could to give myself the best chance of going and truly believed I could help the team. I appreciate there was risk on both sides but it was one I was willing to take.
“Good luck to the boys. I’ll be back soon. Stay safe and sending love,” Reece James stated.
It was learnt that England coach, Gareth Southgate on Tuesday, told James that he cannot risk including him in his 26-man squad that will be announced on Thursday.
There are injury concerns to another key England right-back, Kyle Walker, and to midfielder Kalvin Phillips.
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