Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins will not be part of England’s squad for the March internationals due to a minor knee injury.

Watkins picked up the knock during Villa’s 3-0 victory over Club Brugge on Wednesday night. He was substituted at halftime, with Leon Bailey taking his place. Bailey later combined with Marco Asensio to break the deadlock, before Asensio added a second goal following Ian Maatsen’s strike.

The in-form forward will be disappointed to miss out on England’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia. However, Sky Sports reports that Thomas Tuchel and Watkins mutually agreed it would be best for him to rest during the international break.

It remains uncertain whether Watkins will travel to Dubai with other Villa players not involved in national team duty. Unai Emery had planned a warm-weather training camp for 10 to 12 first-team members ahead of the season’s final stretch.

Several of Watkins’ teammates also missed out on international call-ups. Marco Asensio and Pau Torres were not selected by Spain, while Axel Disasi and Boubacar Kamara were left out of the France squad. Meanwhile, Amadou Onana was omitted from Belgium’s squad due to his lack of recent playing time.