‘Incredible’ Reece is well worth the risk urges Pearce
ENGLAND manager Gareth Southgate has been advised by Stuart Pearce to cross his fingers on Reece James’s fitness and take him to Qatar.
Pearce, one of the finest full-backs in England history, feels James is worth the risk, even if he is unable to play in the group stage because of the knee injury that has sidelined him for the past month.
“I would take a chance on him if there was any outside chance he might be fit for the knockout stage, definitely,” said Pearce.
“I don’t want to speak too soon but the magnitude of the group we are in will hopefully enable Gareth to make those judgment calls about players that may need an extra week to prove their fitness.
“You don’t want too many with injury doubts – I think we had that in South Africa in 2010 and I don’t think it worked – but the 26-man squad certainly makes things a little bit easier for him on that front.”
The right side of defence is the area of most concern for Southgate ahead of revealing his World Cup squad tomorrow, with KyleWalker still on the way back from groin surgery.
Pearce said: “Reece has more to come for England but for Chelsea he has been absolutely incredible.
“I was at the AC Milan game he got injured in and up until then he was absolutely magnificent.”
There is also disruption on the left side, where England have lost Ben Chilwell. Pearce’s surprise stand-in would be uncapped Newcastle defender Dan Burn.
He said: “I think Luke Shaw is England’s No.1 left-back – he proved that last summer and Kieran Trippier would be an adequate replacement but I would probably say that having someone who is a more natural left-back might be a good addition as well as Trippier.As a left-field suggestion I have been really impressed with Dan Burn recently. ”
Pearce, who was back in grassroots football yesterday in his role as a Pitching In ambassador, added: “People look at Gareth and think he’s a nice fella – and he is – but he will make tough calls. He will make the right decisions for the team.”
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