Gareth Southgate will leave the door open for Reece James and Kyle Walker to be part of England 's squad at the World Cup.
The defensive duo are currently both out injured, with Walker having undergone surgery and James recently ruled out for eight weeks. But Southgate isn't giving up on two mainstays of his first-choice XI in recent months, with the Three Lions boss needing to name a provisional squad of up to 55 players on Friday which could include some wildcard selections.
FIFA require all 32 teams competing in Qatar next month to name a roster of potential players for "operational arrangements", such as visas and accreditation. Only players from Southgate's provisional list will be eligible for call-ups to his final squad, which must be named by Monday, November 14, one week before England's opening game against Iran.
The Mail report that there's good news for James and Walker as well as Manchester City 's Kalvin Phillips, who's played a mere 14 minutes all season due to his injury woes. Meanwhile, it's stated that Liverpool centre-back Joe Gomez and Crystal Palace playmaker Eberechi Eze are also set to be included on the lengthy list of candidates for Qatar.
Walker had an operation on his groin earlier this month shortly before James suffered damage to his knee ligaments as Chelsea beat AC Milan 2-0 in the Champions League last Tuesday. The 24-year-old right-back has vowed to recover as quickly as possible to be part of the Three Lions' World Cup squad, as Chelsea manager Graham Potter also deals with absence.
"It's a big miss for us," the Blues boss admitted last week. "We're disappointed he's out. We are going to have to deal with that and help him get back fit as quickly as we can. I spoke to him yesterday. He is disappointed to be out."
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While Potter's job likely won't depend on how his team fare between now and mid-December, Southgate's certainly could. The 52-year-old is under pressure after a run of six games without a win, although he won't be leaving the Wembley dugout on his own accord amid speculation that the World Cup could be his third and final major tournament in charge of the Three Lions.
"The England part of my journey as a player and manager has probably been the greatest highlight and the greatest honour for me," Southgate, whose contract with the FA runs until after the European Championships in 2024, recently declared.
"I'm hoping this isn't the end of it… I'm hoping there's a few more years ahead. I still feel I've got a lot of improving to do and hopefully a lot of years ahead. But of course, there’s a lot in the next couple of months that we want to achieve as a start. Beyond that, I'm assuming life will continue and there are a lot of challenges ahead."
