James Hill earns first England call-up as Ezri Konsa ruled out of Croatia clash

James Hill has received his first senior England call-up after Ezri Konsa was ruled out of Thursday's UEFA Nations League meeting with Croatia at Wembley.

The Bournemouth defender, 24, has joined Thomas Tuchel's squad as cover for Konsa, who is following an individual training programme and will not be available for the game. However, the Arsenal centre-back is expected to return to full training later this week and could feature against Spain on Sunday.

England have already lost Marc Guehi to injury, with Newcastle United defender Dan Burn brought into the squad as his replacement. The absence of both regular centre-backs leaves Tuchel with several defensive decisions to make ahead of the Croatia fixture.

Hill has impressed for Bournemouth and has featured regularly under head coach Marco Rose. He has represented England at Under-20 and Under-21 level, but this is his first opportunity with the senior national team.

The available centre-back options for Thursday include Hill, Burn, Jarrad Branthwaite and Jarell Quansah, while Ben White can also provide cover in defence.

England need to avoid a seven-goal defeat against Croatia to secure qualification for the Nations League quarter-finals. They will then travel to Madrid to face Spain on Sunday in their final group-stage fixture.