Reece James is in support of Paul Merson’s view that Gareth Southgate has made a mistake in opting not to include the Chelsea star in his World Cup squad.
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The 22-year-old defender would have been an automatic selection had he not suffered a knee injury during last the Champions League win over AC Milan.
James is nearing the end of his rehabilitation but after missing the last eight games in all competitions, Southgate was not prepared to gamble on his fitness.
Merson, however, questioned Southgate’s decision given he felt confident enough to pick Kyle Walker despite the player having been out of action since the start of October.
‘If it was Harry Kane he would be going – what’s the difference? We aren’t going to win the World Cup without having James in the team,’ Merson wrote in his column for The Star.
‘He is a shoo-in to start and if we took him, he plays in England’s team every day of the week. He is one of our best players.
‘If it was Kane, they would say ‘right we’ll take him and use him after the group stages’.’
James released a statement this week revealing his devastation at missing out on appearing at a major tournament and hinted at a frustration confirmed by his social media activity.
He wrote on Instagram after it emerged he would not be going to Qatar: ‘Devastated, The minute I injured my knee, I knew the turn around to make the World Cup would be tight, but I always felt it was possible.
‘I’ve worked harder than I ever thought I could to give myself the best chance of going and truly believe 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 & sending love.’
Explaining his decision, Southgate told a press conference on Thursday: ‘Of course, we had to make a very difficult call with Reece, who we think is a fantastic player.
‘But he wasn’t going to be available, if everything went perfectly, until the latter stages of the tournament, and there were too many unknowns for us on that road to recovery.
‘And also I don’t think we can take a player who’s not available for the group, that would be deemed arrogant in some circles.
‘But also, if everything went well and he was available and he was ready and we were picking him, then we’d be dropping him into a quarter-final after eight weeks out. That would be really demanding. A tough call.’
