Reece James: Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says defender is not fit for England duty

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"He's training at the pool" - Tuchel was surprised by James' England call up

Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea boss, expects Reece James will miss England duty due to injury despite being chosen.

James was named in Gareth Southgate’s squad to play against Andorra, Hungary and the World Cup qualifiers.

Tuchel stated that the decision to include Tuchel, 21 years old, back in the mix must have been a "misunderstanding".

He laughed and said, "When I first saw it, I thought maybe Reece would go with the waterpolo team for England because right now he trains at the pool."

"So, I was a bit shocked, but I understood that the football team had selected him.

Reece is currently training in the pool so this will not happen.

"So, my understanding is that he won't go. That can only be a misinterpretation, nothing more.

"We carry a mental burden on our shoulders"

Tuchel believes that the expectation weight is also affecting his players following successive defeats.

After Saturday's Premier League defeat at Manchester City, Wednesday's Champions League defeat to Juventus was followed by Saturday's Premier League loss to Juventus.

Some pundits have called the European Champions, who face Southampton on Saturday (15:00 BST), favourites for the Premier League title.

He said, "It feels a bit like we are carrying some mental weight on our shoulders from expectation".

"I was told by someone many years ago that players who look like this can be threatened or calmed down. 99% of the times you can calm them down."

Tuchel claims his team missed "a little step between 90% and 100%" and needs to "question ourselves deeply".

"We expect the best from ourselves. We hate losing, and nobody likes to lose.

"We must respect the qualities of our adversaries. We were also not bad. We've played some good matches.

"We are searching for the last 10%."