Thomas Tuchel has admitted that he was surprised at Gareth Southgate’s decision to call up the injured Reece James – and joked that he thought the right back had been called up to England’s water polo team as he was recovering in the pool.

James came off on 29 minutes against Manchester City after picking up an ankle injury and was not available for selection as the Blues loss against Juventus on Wednesday.

Neverthless, Southgate decided on Thursday to call James up as part of 23-man squad ahead of 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Hungary.

‘When I saw it I thought maybe Reece goes with the water polo teams as he is training in the pool,’ laughed Tuchel.

‘I am surprised. My understanding is that he will not go. This will not happen. It can only be a misunderstanding.’

When asked to elaborate on whether he was surprised not to have been called by Southgate, Tuchel replied: ‘It’s normal. Imagine if every coach called. I am very bad at answering calls anyway. The club is in touch.’