England confirm injury blow as star becomes sixth player to withdraw from squad

Nico O'Reilly has been ruled out of the rest of England's Nations League matches this month because of injury. Manchester City defender O'Reilly flew home from Croatia to return to his club for treatment and will miss Saturday's game in Rijeka as well as next Tuesday's clash with Czechia at Wembley.

O'Reilly's injury has not been specified but he was absent for Tuesday's 2-0 win in Prague and also sat out a training session after the first game with Spain. A statement read: "Nico O'Reilly has returned to Manchester City and will play no part in the forthcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures.

"The left-back sat out the 2-0 victory against Czechia in Prague and has now returned to his club for further assessment. No further replacements are planned as the Three Lions prepare to face Croatia in Rijeka on Saturday before returning to Wembley to take on Czechia on Tuesday."

O'Reilly has become the sixth England player to withdraw from Thomas Tuchel's squad due to injury. The 21-year-old follows Cole Palmer, Declan Rice, Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo and Tino Livramento.

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In O'Reilly's absence, Lewis Hall could retain his place in England's starting line-up. The Newcastle defender impressed against Czechia, as he picked up his fifth cap.

Tuchel was pleased with Hall's 'excellent' performance, alongside that of Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back. "Both full-backs were good," the England manager hailed.

"I think the position in the second half suited Trent a little bit more than the position in the first half and Lewis did excellent on the other side, so well done."

How should England line up against Croatia? Give us your prediction in the comments section.

England will be looking to make it six points from three games when they take on Croatia. Tuchel's side lost 3-2 at home to Spain in their opening game in a blow to their hopes of topping League A Group 3.

The Three Lions staved off early pressure from Czechia before Pavel Sulc was red carded and put the hosts a man down. Second-half goals from Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane got the job done for England, with Tuchel praising his players for their improvement as the game went on.

"We stepped up in urgency, bit of quicker play and better ball speed. We deserved to win the second half," the German concluded. "With the red card we became heavy, heavy favourites. A clean sheet is always important, it gives everyone a good feeling. Always things to improve but overall a serious performance and a deserved win."