Bournemouth centre-back James Hill has received his first senior England call-up, joining Thomas Tuchel's squad as cover after Arsenal defender Ezri Konsa was ruled out of Thursday's UEFA Nations League fixture against Croatia at Wembley.

Konsa sustained a knee injury during Arsenal's UEFA Champions League victory at Slavia Prague on Wednesday, and was substituted during the match. He did, however, play all 90 minutes of Arsenal's weekend win over Hull on Saturday. The 24-year-old is expected to return to full training this week ahead of England's clash with Spain in Madrid on Sunday.

The squad had already been disrupted earlier in the week when centre-back Marc Guehi withdrew with a hip injury on Sunday, with Dan Burn stepping in as his replacement.

Hill's rise at Bournemouth

At 24, Hill has established himself as a cornerstone of Bournemouth's defence this season, completing every minute of their Premier League campaign and featuring in all of the club's matches in their inaugural UEFA Europa League adventure.

Hill arrived at Bournemouth from Fleetwood in January 2022 and had previously represented England at Under-20 and Under-21 level. His path to regular first-team football was gradual — he made only 24 appearances across his first three and a half years at the club before cementing his place in the starting eleven last season, when Bournemouth achieved their highest ever top-flight finish of sixth.

The south-coast side are currently riding a remarkable eight-match winning run across all competitions and sit seventh in the Premier League table.