Chelsea injury news: Reece James withdraws from England squad with issue sustained against Liverpool

Chelsea defender Reece James has been forced to withdraw from the England squad due to injury.

On Saturday evening, James played a key role as the Blues earned a thrilling 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the Premier League.

The 25-year-old completed the 90 minutes versus the defending champions, starting at right-back before switching to the middle courtesy of injuries to other players.

With James having been performing to somewhere close to his best, he has reclaimed his spot in the England squad under former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel.

However, James will play no part of the fixtures versus Wales and Latvia courtesy of an issue sustained at the weekend.

Is Reece James injury serious?

Chelsea fans will naturally have concerns that James is facing another prolonged period on the sidelines given his history.

On this occasion, however, it appears that a nasty gash to his shin may be the issue with the player posting an image on social media.

?Reece James has dropped out of the England squad after sustaining an injury against Liverpool, according to the FA. He has been in excellent form so hopefully nothing major. He posted this picture on his Instagram account. pic.twitter.com/FcbRro4vw5

— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) October 6, 2025

When factoring in that James would not have been risked for a friendly against Wales on Thursday, the decision has been taken to call up Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly as a replacement.

Since September 20, James has also completed the 90 minutes on three occasions. Before then, over six months had passed since the Blues skipper had finished a match.

Furthermore, taking into account his five appearances at the Club World Cup and lack of summer break, a sensible decision has seemingly been taken by all parties.

© Imago

Blessing in disguise for Chelsea

A two-week break for James to rest and recuperate ahead of the next batch of fixtures feels like a considerable blessing in disguise for Chelsea.

Moises Caicedo and Joao Pedro - two other players who have experienced a high workload - have also been left out of the Ecuador and Brazil squads.

Maresca will essentially view the situation as a triple boost ahead of the next hectic batch of fixtures, Chelsea having matches against Nottingham Forest, Ajax, Sunderland and Wolverhampton Wanderers to come between October 18 and October 29.