England call up two new players to November squad after Anthony Gordon and Nick Pope injuries with Marc Guehi still a major doubt for Serbia & Albania games

It is now official that Newcastle United duo Gordon and Pope will miss England's upcoming World Cup qualifying matches against Albania and Serbia after being ruled out of action due to injuries. Gordon was not part of the travelling Magpies squad to Brentford last weekend, while goalkeeper Pope was forced off the pitch in the 77th minute after he fell awkwardly as he came to collect a high ball.

Giving an update on the players' condition after Newcastle's 3-1 loss, manager Eddie Howe said: "Nick Pope suffered a concussion and that’s why we took him off. As soon as we were made aware of that, he was withdrawn. Initially, I wasn’t told anything in the sense that he was concussed and then a message came that he wasn’t feeling too well and he had to come off. He won’t go with England. It’s 12 days (recovery), I think. Anthony has a minor injury, so he’ll miss England."

Tuchel has called up Manchester City custodian James Trafford and Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah to bring the numbers back up. An official national team statement read: "Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah and Manchester City’s James Trafford have been added to the England squad. This follows the withdrawal of Newcastle United duo Anthony Gordon and Nick Pope through injury and concussion, respectively."

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Guehi suffered bruising to the bone of his foot during Palace's Conference League clash against AZ Alkmaar last week and was subsequently ruled out of the Eagles' Premier League game against Brighton. Manager Oliver Glasner provided an update on the defender's fitness as he told reporters: "He can't even walk at the moment so the last two days he was on crutches. That's why he can't play. I don't know how this develops over the next couple of days. At the moment, it looks like he can't play for England as well."

England have still welcomed Guehi into their November camp, but it is expected that Chalobah will cover for the Palace star, at least for the Serbia game. The official national team statement added: "Crystal Palace’s Marc Guéhi has reported for international duty and will continue to be assessed in the coming days."

Tuchel has only selected one natural centre-forward for the latest set of qualifiers, with England already assured of passage to next summer's World Cup. Captain Harry Kane got the nod once again, having reached 23 goals across all competitions for Bayern Munich and 13 in the Bundesliga so far this season. Kane's fiery run of form is giving hope to England fans that football will finally come home in 2026.

There is also a fear, though, that a sudden injury blow to the Three Lions captain could spoil their chances of glory in North America, and as a result, Tuchel has been advised to protect the star attacker as much as possible. 

In an exclusive interview with GOAL, former England striker Fraizer Campbell said: "It’s a difficult one. You have got [Ollie] Watkins, who is a quality player but he’s not in the same bracket as Harry Kane yet. It would be an issue. We have got a lot of good, technical 10s who could potentially play higher up the pitch like a false nine. [Marcus] Rashford has played No.9 before and he’s doing well this season. It would be a big miss for us, but we would have to cope somehow. Maybe come the start of next year we just wrap him in cotton wool and tell him not to play too much for Bayern!"