England call up Man City's Rico Lewis for Czechia clash
England call up Rico Lewis for Czechia clash

Rico Lewis has been added to England's squad for this week's Nations League clash with Czechia at Wembley.

The Manchester City full-back has been promoted from Lee Carsley's Under-21s, whom he helped secure qualification for the 2027 U21 European Championships earlier in this international break.

Replacement for injured O'Reilly

Lewis, who has been capped five times in England's first team, comes in as a replacement for his club team-mate Nico O'Reilly, who dropped out of the squad with an injury after the Three Lions' previous meeting with Czechia in Prague earlier this week. A statement said he had been sent home for "further assessment" on that injury, but it was said at the time that nobody would be called up in his place.

That left Lewis Hall as the only other recognised left-back in the current England squad. The Newcastle star started and impressed in both the defeat of Czechia and Saturday's 7-0 demolition of Croatia in Rijeka.

Potential role at Wembley

Having started consecutive matches, it might not be a surprise to see Hall play a secondary role against Czechia at Wembley, either starting on the bench or playing limited minutes after starting.

Lewis has played a prominent role at City this season, making three first-team appearances thus far and starting twice. His most recent senior England appearance came in 2024, when the Three Lions beat Greece 3-0 away in the Nations League. Carsley was the manager at the time. His other caps have come in a pair of victories over Finland, a defeat by Greece and a 1-1 draw with North Macedonia.