The Football Association has announced that Kyle Walker, a defender for Man City, will not be playing for the England squad due to an injury. He sustained the injury during the first half of a friendly match against Brazil on Saturday evening. Rico Lewis, another player from the same club, has been called in as his replacement. He tried to keep playing after coming off initially, but only lasted a short time before being substituted by Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa. Following the game, England manager Gareth Southgate stated that the player from Manchester City would be evaluated within the next 36 hours due to experiencing ‘tightness’. England have officially stated that Walker has departed from the team and has gone back to Manchester City for evaluation in preparation for an important match against Arsenal. Vinicius Jr also shared his well wishes to Walker after he got injured in the game between England and Brazil. Phil Foden is up against a new challenge outside of Manchester City, as Julian Alvarez has been overlooked. Lewis, who has represented England once at the senior level, has been selected to join the squad again after being initially chosen for the U21 team during the recent international break. In November 2023, he played his first international match against North Macedonia, participating in the full 90 minutes of the 1-1 draw. The 19-year-old has appeared in 21 games for City this season. Lewis has a versatile skill set that allows him to play in multiple positions such as central midfield, defensive midfield, and right back. He may have the opportunity to earn his second cap for England during their match against Belgium at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday evening. Southgate will have one final opportunity to evaluate his players before revealing his initial Euros squad for the upcoming tournament this summer. Walker, Maguire, and Johnstone have all pulled out of the squad.
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