Nico O'Reilly leaves England squad with injury ahead of Croatia clash

Nico O’Reilly has left the England squad and returned to Manchester City for further assessment after sustaining an injury in training, the Football Association confirmed on Thursday. The Manchester City full-back will play no part in England’s remaining UEFA Nations League fixtures — Saturday’s trip to Rijeka to face Croatia and the following Tuesday’s home game against Czechia at Wembley.

O’Reilly had started England’s Nations League opener, completing 90 minutes before making a costly error that contributed to Spain’s second goal in a 3-2 defeat. He then missed the midweek 2-0 win over Czechia in Prague after the training setback, and has now been formally stood down from the squad entirely.

The FA confirmed no replacement will be called up for either fixture. In a statement, the governing body said: “Nico O’Reilly has returned to Manchester City and will play no part in the forthcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures. No further replacements are planned as the Three Lions prepare to face Croatia in Rijeka on Saturday before returning to Wembley to take on Czechia on Tuesday.”

O’Reilly’s absence opens the door for Newcastle United’s Lewis Hall to retain the left-back berth. Hall completed 90 minutes in Prague on Tuesday and is expected to start again in Rijeka.

Saturday’s match will be played behind closed doors after UEFA ordered Croatia to serve a two-game stadium punishment — one home game without spectators and one away game without travelling Croatian fans — following crowd trouble during their Nations League quarter-final against France last May.

It is not the first time England supporters have faced such an unusual away fixture in Rijeka. In October 2018, fans were barred from travelling to a Nations League match at the same venue due to identical sanctions against Croatia, though hundreds still made the trip and attempted to watch from a hill overlooking the ground.