The right-back was not named in the Three Lions’ 26-man squad for Qatar 2022, having failed to recover in time from a knee injury he sustained back in October.
‘He wasn’t going to be available, if everything went perfectly, until the latter stages of the tournament, and there were too many unknowns for us on that road to recovery,’ Southgate said on his decision not to call-up James.
While the 22-year-old seemed to initially take this with good faith, on Saturday he appeared to take a jab at the England boss by liking a tweet that quoted a column by Paul Merson which criticised Southgate’s call to drop James but include Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips.
The Manchester City duo also have fitness concerns having only just recovered from major groin and shoulder injuries respectively.
But that does not appear to be the end of the matter, as James took to social media again to question another one of Southgate’s controversial calls.
Uncapped striker Toney was another who did not make the cut despite his incredible from that has seen him score 10 Premier League goals this season – only Erling Haaland and Harry Kane have more.
On Saturday, the 26-year-old bagged a brace as Brentford stunned City 2-1 at the Etihad, once again fuelling discussion as to whether Southgate made a mistake.
James seems to think he did, commenting on Toney’s Instagram post: ‘If I speak I’m in big trouble,’ – the infamous quote former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho made in 2014.
Toney for his part did not seem too aggrieved by the snub, telling BT Sport after the Brentford game: ‘Obviously disappointment [over England], but I know what I’m capable of.
‘I won’t let it put me down, I’ll keep going and keep doing well for Brentford.’
MORE : Why Raheem Sterling isn’t in Chelsea’s squad for Newcastle clash
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