Young Chelsea defender Josh Acheampong has pulled out of the England Under-21s squad due to a minor injury.

Acheampong was initially named in the 25-man England U21 squad that was announced last week ahead of their upcoming friendlies against Portugal and France.

However, the 20-year-old suffered an injury before Chelsea’s trip to Sunderland and consequently missed out on the 1-0 defeat at the Stadium of Light.

Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso did not specify what the injury was, saying the young defender was “recovering from a minor thing”.

Since it was a minor injury, it was unclear whether Acheampong would still travel with the England U21 for the two friendlies, both of which will take place at Ashton Gate Stadium on November 13 and 16.

The FA have now officially confirmed that Acheampong, alongside Birmingham City goalkeeper James Beadle, has withdrawn from the England U21 squad.

The official statement reads: “Acheampong has withdrawn from the squad having been absent for Chelsea’s trip to Sunderland whilst Beadle was substituted during half-time of Birmingham City's victory over Lincoln City and subsequently missed Blues’ next two fixtures.

“Both players are now unavailable for the Young Lions' double-header.”

Acheampong will now have close to two weeks to recover, and he will hope to be back in time for Chelsea’s return to action in the home Premier League fixture against Leeds United on Saturday, November 21.

Jamie Gittens, who often spends time together with Acheampong at the England Under-21 camp, has also had to skip international duty due to an ankle injury he picked up in the Young Lions’ win over Kazakhstan in September. 

Gittens has since missed six games for Chelsea across all competitions. A couple of weeks ago, Alonso said the young winger was only “a few weeks” away from recovery. Therefore, there is a good chance that he could make his return after the international break.

Several other Chelsea players are also recovering from injuries during this break. Jorrel Hato (back) and Joao Pedro (thigh) are expected to be back soon, but Maxence Lacroix (hamstring) and Reece James (knee) will likely still be out for months.

Additionally, Emiliano Martinez and Aaron Anselmino are on their way to full fitness, but the pair, alongside Valentin Barco, have travelled to Argentina for two home friendlies against Uruguay (November 13) and Costa Rica (November 17).

After Acheampong’s withdrawal from the England U21 squad, the number of Chelsea first-team players who are on international duty this month has gone down from 13 to 12. 

The list includes Belgian duo Mike Penders and Romeo Lavia, Portuguese pair Pedro Neto and Geovany Quenda, and Chelsea’s only representative in the England squad, Morgan Rogers.

Several Chelsea players are not on international duty despite having no injuries, such as Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana, Pep Chavarria, Jordan Henderson, Emmanuel Emegha, and Danny Welbeck. These players can therefore focus on the upcoming clash with Leeds, as Chelsea will aim to bounce back with a win.