Ezri Konsa ruled out of England's clash with Croatia, James Hill called up

England have been hit by a further setback in defence with Arsenal's Ezri Konsa ruled out of the match on Thursday against Croatia at Wembley.

Thomas Tuchel has called up Bournemouth's uncapped centre-back James Hill as Konsa's replacement.

The news of Konsa's unavailability follows Marc Guéhi's withdrawal from the squad on Monday ahead of the matches with Croatia and Spain in Madrid.

Konsa's unavailability means England will need a complete defensive rethink ahead of Thursday's match at Wembley.

Konsa could yet face Spain on Sunday, but the Arsenal centre-back won't be fit for Croatia with the FA saying Konsa continues to follow his own programme but will return to full training later this week.

The news will come as a setback for Tuchel as England will be without their first choice centre-back partnership on Thursday.

But their absence gives Bournemouth's Hill, 24, an opportunity to impress. He has represented England at both Under-20 and U21 level and has been a key figure for Bournemouth in both the Premier League and Europa League this season.

With Konsa and Guéhi both absent, Tuchel will likely choose between Dan Burn, Jarell Quansah, Jarrad Branthwaite, Ben White and Hill for who starts against Croatia. 

England also have John Stones also unavailable as he recovers from a hamstring strain at Inter Milan while Como's Trevoh Chalobah is sidelined with a muscle injury.