Reece James has overcome his recent hamstring problems and is set to start in England's World Cup semi-final against Argentina on Wednesday.
The Chelsea captain was unsurprisingly included in Thomas Tuchel's final 26-man World Cup squad earlier this summer, but after Tino Livramento was forced home on the eve of the tournament, has been forced to play an even bigger role.
Despite club teammate Trevoh Chalobah being Tuchel's late pick to replace Livramento, it was James who started in both of the Three Lions' first two group games. Unfortunately, a familiar hamstring strain — suffered late on against Ghana — sidelined him for the nation's next three matches though.
There is hope James is now fit enough to start on Wednesday, though.
Reece James ready to start for England against Argentina
The Chelsea captain returned during England's 2-1 quarter-final win over Norway, coming off the bench to replace Anthony Gordon after 71 minutes.
The full-back, although asked to go into central midfield, completed 49 minutes worth of play after the match went to extra-time, and now he's set to go one better against Lionel Messi's Argentina in Atlanta.
According to Sky Sports, with the exception of the suspended Jarrel Quansah and Jordan Henderson, who broke his wrist in England's celebrations after beating Mexico, Tuchel has an almost-full squad to pick from on Wednesday.
Although there were some worries over Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly after he tweaked his hamstring against Norway, the 21-year-old is well placed to start for the seventh consecutive time.
In addition to City's young left-back and along with the fatigued Declan Rice, who has recently battled a sickness bug, James is also expected to be fit enough to start against the 2022 World champions later this week.
James' availability could be the difference
James' expected availability will be a major boost for Tuchel, who, up until this point, has been plagued by injuries with the right-back position a particular area of concern.
Although Djed Spence and Ezri Konsa have both done exceptionally well whenever called upon, there is no way either defender starts ahead of Chelsea's number 24.
On his day, James is arguably the world's best right-back, and with the likes of Julian Alvarez and Messi to contain, there is no other man Tuchel will want starting at the back than the Blues' skipper.
The Three Lions are just one game away from reaching only their second-ever World Cup final where they could face either Spain or France.
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