Reece James makes injury admission after Gary Neville and Roy Keane criticism
Reece James returned from injury as a second-half substitute in England’s 2-1 World Cup quarter-final win over Norway
Reece James with David Beckham
Reece James is delighted to have beaten the clock and recovered from injury just as England reach the business end of the World Cup.
The Chelsea captain returned as a second-half substitute in the 2-1 quarter-final victory over Norway, having sat out three matches with a hamstring problem sustained in the second group stage fixture against Ghana.
James came on in a central midfield role before reverting to his customary right-back position as a brace from Jude Bellingham sent England through to a semi-final showdown with holders Argentina on Wednesday.
“It’s good to be back out there with the boys,” he told Lions Den. “Picking up an injury at a tournament is always a race against the clock. I applied myself and happy to be back out there.”
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Despite failing to hit top gear throughout the tournament, Thomas Tuchel’s side have found a way to clear every hurdle, yet arguably their stiffest test awaits in the next round.
England versus Argentina is a fixture steeped in history, but James believes his side are well equipped to rise to the occasion.
“It comes with experience. The higher stakes the game is, the more pressure,” he added. “We’ve been doing it for years, the fundamentals are the same, but the prize is slightly different.
“We’re in a bubble, trying to complete our mission. It’s hard to see the outside. We’re happy we’re making everyone at home proud.
“This is what dreams are made of. Everyone as a little boy dreamt of playing and winning a World Cup. We’re against one of the best nations in the semi-final.”
England are enjoying a remarkable spell in major tournaments, having progressed to two World Cup semi-finals across the past three editions while also contesting consecutive European Championship finals.
James attributes this success to the standard of the Premier League.
“I think it starts with the Premier League,” he continued. “The best league in the world for me and I’m sure many fans. It’s the highest level. A lot of the good quality players are English.
“It shows how much English football has come on in recent years. We’re (knocking at) the door, in and around it, at the latter stages of tournaments when it is crunch time.”
James has been speaking about his injury after Gary Neville claimed he would be England’s greatest-ever right-back if he wasn’t injury prone while Roy Keane has questioned the Chelsea captain’s training programme.
Despite impressing off the bench on his return in Saturday night’s quarter-final win over Norway, Neville still has concerns over his injury record.
Speaking about James and Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw on Stick to Football, brought to you by Sky Bet, Neville said: “If Reece James and Luke Shaw were fully fit at all times of their careers, they could be England’s best left back and right back ever.”
Manchester United legend Keane also got stuck into the debate and questioned the training programmes used by modern-day footballers.
He added: “(On the wave of injuries to players like Reece James and Luke Shaw) Maybe it’s the way they’re training – they all go and get these private coaches; they go to gyms.
“Are they robust enough to play games? There are a lot of footballers who look immaculate but aren’t flexing – they play ten games a season, they’re not robust.
“All these guys have their own fitness coaches, and I don’t think those coaches take them away from what the game’s actually about, which is training properly.
“A lot of the time they’re in the gym maybe doing the wrong exercises, or they get an injury and go off to Dubai to recover, instead of asking whether the player is actually robust enough.”
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