England manager Thomas Tuchel says he is still unsure whether Ezri Konsa and Nico O’Reilly will be fit to face the Czech Republic in Tuesday’s Nations League match.
The pair were the only members of England’s 24-man squad to miss Monday’s group training session ahead of the trip to Prague. Both instead followed individual training programmes.
Konsa and O’Reilly both played the full 90 minutes of England’s 3–2 defeat to Spain at Wembley on Saturday.
Tuchel said the two players were dealing with “minor issues” but stressed that they still needed to be assessed before a decision could be made.
“I’m not sure yet,” Tuchel said when asked whether the defensive duo would be available. He added that final checks would be carried out on Tuesday morning by the medical staff.
The England manager said he would ideally like to keep the same starting XI that faced Spain but would not take unnecessary risks with the players’ fitness.
If Konsa is ruled out, Jarrad Branthwaite is among the options available to replace him in central defence. Lewis Hall could come in for O’Reilly at left-back.
England travel to Prague looking to respond to their defeat against Spain. Tuchel said the match is important but rejected the description of it as a must-win game, given the early stage of the Nations League group.
The final decision on Konsa and O’Reilly is expected after Tuesday morning’s fitness assessments.