England defender Reece James has confirmed reports that he has been ruled out of the World Cup due to a knee injury.
James sustained the issue when representing Chelsea against AC Milan in the Champions League on October 11, it later being revealed that the right-back would need to spend a month in a knee brace.
The general consensus was that the 22-year-old would require eight weeks to recover from the injury, effectively leaving him out of contention until the quarter-final stage should England get there.
However, at the end of October, James insisted that he remained optimistic about being able to participate in the tournament, telling The Sun: "I need to keep working hard over the next few weeks and see where I am on call-up day.
"I will try and not rule myself out. It is still slow and in the early stages. I have been in rehab for two weeks, so I am still taking it day-by-day.
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Nevertheless, on Wednesday morning, it was claimed that Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate had held a conversation with James to inform him that he would not feature in his 26-player squad.
Although Southgate will not officially name his squad until Thursday, James has taken to social media to confirm that he will not be part of the group which travels to Qatar.
Commenting on Twitter, James 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.
"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.
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"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."
Fitness-wise, James has endured a frustrating 11 months, first sustaining a hamstring injury last December which kept him sidelined for two months.
In total, the academy graduate has missed 29 matches since the end of 2021, and he will now aim to recover in time for the resumption of the Premier League on Boxing Day.
The same report on Wednesday suggested that Manchester City duo Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips, who have been nursing groin and shoulder injuries respectively, are in contention to be selected in the squad on Thursday.
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