Ezri Konsa ruled out of first England game as uncapped Premier League star called up

Bournemouth defender James Hill has received his first call up to the England squad. The 24-year-old has joined the Three Lions squad ahead of the UEFA Nations League fixtures against Croatia and Spain. talkSPORT exclusively reported that Hill was on Thomas Tuchel’s 55-man shortlist last week alongside Will Lankshear Meanwhile, Ezri Konsa will not feature in Thursday’s clash with Croatia at Wembley and will continue to follow his own training programme before returning to training later this week. The Arsenal defender could be in contention for Sunday’s match against Spain in Madrid. Tuchel has been handed a minor defensive headache ahead of this week’s double header. Manchester City’s Marc Guehi pulled out of the squad through injury leading to Dan Burn’s late inclusion. Hill will provide Tuchel with a further defensive option alongside the Newcastle captain, Konsa, Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite and Jarell Quansah. The England boss can also call upon Ben White, Lewis Hall, Djed Spence and Myles Lewis-Skelly. James Hill’s career to date Hill joined Bournemouth from League Two Fleetwood Town in January 2022 for a club record £1million. He later enjoyed a loan spell in Scotland with Hearts before later moving to Blackburn. He was recalled by the Cherries in January 2024 and last season went on to establish himself as a starter under Andoni Iraola . Hill, under contract until 2029, played a key role in helping Bournemouth qualify for Europe for the first time in their history. Despite Iraola’s departure to Liverpool , Hill has continued his excellent form and has become a regular under new boss Marco Rose. He has played 15 times for Bournemouth this season and featured all but one match during the club’s current eight-game winning run. The defender has never hidden his ambition of playing for England one day. “You grow up watching the Three Lions on TV, for the World Cup, the Euros. It’s one of the greatest honours you can have in football, he recently told The Times. His meteoric rise to the England squad is testament to his development and recent success at Bournemouth.