Chelsea and Man City stars called up to England squad following several injuries

The international break is upon us - England will take on Malta on November 17 and North Macedonia on November 20 in their final Euro 2024 qualifying games before the tournament begins next summer.

However, Gareth Southgate's plans for this pair of fixtures now face a late alteration, as James Maddison, Callum Wilson and Lewis Dunk have all been forced to withdraw from the 25-man squad with injuries.

Due to this, Southgate has been forced to call up replacements for these three injured players - he chose to call up stars from Chelsea, Manchester City and Aston Villa to take their place in the team.

Who has been called up to the England squad?

Chelsea's Cole Palmer, Manchester City's Rico Lewis and Ezri Konza of Aston Villa have been called up to replace Maddison, Wilson and Dunk in the England squad.

Palmer signed for Chelsea in the 2023 summer transfer window - initially, the move raised eyebrows, but he has proven himself as a key player for the Blues amongst a slew of talented superstars. So far, he has scored four goals in ten Premier League appearances this season, registering two assists along the way.

Rico Lewis is swiftly establishing himself as one of the top young defenders in the Premier League. He is slowly beginning to carve out a more regular place in City's team - additionally, he has also shown that he is comfortable when deployed in central midfield.

Meanwhile, Ezri Konza has played in all of Aston Villa's 12 Premier League games so far this season. The Villans haven't been airtight at the back in 2023/24, having conceded 17 goals, but Konza's omnipresence in the team shows how much faith manager Unai Emery has in the 26-year-old. He has yet to score a goal or register an assist this season, but his defensive displays have been admirable.