Lewis Hall makes 'heavy' England claim after Newcastle United star suffers 'injury scare'
Czechia v England: Lewis Hall was speaking to the media ahead of England’s Nations League match against Czechia on Tuesday night.
Newcastle United defender Lewis Hall is hoping to win his fifth cap for England tonight after missing out on the World Cup squad.
The 22-year-old had to watch the summer’s run to the semi-finals from home after Thomas Tuchel decided against selecting a player he called up for the first time in March.
Hall watched from the bench as England lost 3-2 to world champions Spain at Wembley Stadium over the weekend. And, with Nico O’Reilly a doubt, Hall is primed to be back involved after missing some training last week due to what Tuchel described as an ‘injury scare’.
Lewis Hall on England return
The Newcastle left-back said of his World Cup omission: “There’s going to be a sense of disappointment but I’m just looking to use that and bounce back and hopefully I can create a good account of myself here.
“It’s a heavy shirt. I mean, you’re representing England, one of the best countries in the world.
“Whenever you step on the pitch, you’ve got to be at your best. You’ve got to be doing the right things because there’s a lot at stake.
“I think everyone who’s in the squad, and even players who aren’t in the squad, know how much it means to each other to play for our country.
“It’s always nice competition and I think it’s healthy to get the best out of players.”
Tuchel on Hall’s fitness
When asked about Hall’s lack of involvement against Spain Tuchel explained: “He missed some training sessions with a bit of an injury scare, Lewis Hall.
“That's why I was a bit hesitant to put him out there today. But he's an option. He trained well in the end of the week but he was out of training in the beginning of the week and we just didn't want to take any risk because there was a lot of high-speed running to do, there was a lot of defending to do, of course against Lamine Yamal. I just didn't want to risk it.
“But Lewis is always in our discussions on the left-back position. He is the one who actually plays left-back in his club. Nico plays many, many times in central midfield. That sort of situation, nothing. So he will fight for his minutes and for his matches. Still three matches to go.”
After tonight’s game, England travel to face Croatia on Saturday. They return to Wembley Stadium on October 6 to play Czechia again and conclude their international break.