James Hill earns first England call-up after Konsa ruled out

James Hill has been called into the England squad for the first time as cover for Arsenal's Ezri Konsa ahead of Thursday's Nations League match against Croatia at Wembley. The 24-year-old Bournemouth centre-back, who has represented England at Under-20 and Under-21 level, was added to Thomas Tuchel's squad after Konsa was ruled out.

Konsa was substituted after sustaining a knee injury in the Champions League win at Slavia Prague on Wednesday, although he played all 90 minutes of the win over Hull on Saturday. Tuchel moved to alter his defensive options following Konsa's withdrawal. Konsa is scheduled to return to full training this week before England's game against Spain in Madrid on Sunday.

On Sunday Dan Burn replaced centre-back Marc Guehi, who withdrew with a hip injury. The Burn substitution was announced alongside the changes to the defensive group for the forthcoming Nations League fixtures.

Hill has played every minute of Bournemouth's Premier League season and has featured in every game of their inaugural Europa League campaign. He joined Bournemouth from Fleetwood for an undisclosed fee in January 2022. Having made 24 appearances in his first three and a half years with the club, Hill established himself as a regular last season as Bournemouth achieved their highest top-flight finish of sixth.

Bournemouth are on an eight-match winning run in all competitions and sit seventh in the Premier League.

England's immediate fixtures are the Nations League match against Croatia at Wembley on Thursday and the game against Spain in Madrid on Sunday.