England boss Gareth Southgate delivers injury update on Leicester City defender

England head coach Gareth Southgate has explained that Leicester City defender James Justin was substituted at half-time against Hungary because he "felt his calf" during the first half.

The 24-year-old was handed a start at left wing-back to make his first senior start from the off in England 's first Nations League match of the year and was heavily involved during the early stages. Justin, though, appeared to pick up a knock midway through the half when venturing forward down the left and pulled up inside the penalty opposition penalty area before receiving treatment from the medical staff.

This appeared to remedy any ailment as the defender saw out the first half, but Justin did not return for the second at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest. Arsenal 's Bukayo Saka was the like-for-like replacement on the left.

A brief update on Justin's status, plus an assessment of the player's performance, was offered by Southgate in the post-match press conference. “A couple of passes went astray, got caught defensively early on, a test for him. Felt his calf,” Southgate told the assembled journalists, including The Times' chief football writer, Henry Winter, who relayed the preceding on social media.

Hungary targeted the spaces behind both wing-backs in the first half, which was how Justin got caught defensively as Southgate suggested. This was also highlighted by co-commentator Rob Green on Channel 4's coverage of the match.

"You seen him go down, a lot of the attacks from Hungary were coming down the right so he had his work cut out, a lot of work with that heat," Green said. "Let’s hope it’s not too serious and they’re saving him for a later game."