Nico O'Reilly is done for this international window. The FA confirmed he has returned to Manchester City for further assessment and will play no part in England's Nations League games against Croatia on Saturday or the Czech Republic rematch at Wembley next Tuesday.
It started in training. O'Reilly picked up an issue after playing the full 90 minutes against Spain last Saturday — a game England lost 3-2 at Wembley, with the City left-back involved in the buildup to Spain's equalizer. He sat out Tuesday's win in Prague, and now he won't be back at all. The FA have also confirmed no replacements will be called up.
Hall steps in, and the door's wide open
Lewis Hall is the direct beneficiary. The Newcastle defender played the full match in Prague and now looks set to start Saturday's closed-door fixture in Rijeka. For a young player still establishing himself at international level, two starts in four days against Croatia and Czech Republic is exactly the kind of run he needs.
O'Reilly, meanwhile, faces a race to be fit for City's return to Premier League action — away at Anfield against Liverpool a week on Sunday. That's already a charged fixture, made considerably more combustible by City's recent guilty verdict on the Premier League's financial charges. Guardiola's side have denied wrongdoing throughout and intend to appeal, but the atmosphere on Merseyside will not require any extra fuel.
Whether O'Reilly makes it back in time depends on what City's medical staff find when they assess him properly. England haven't said what the injury is, which is standard FA procedure — and rarely a reassuring sign.
