England fear Reece James’ hamstring problem could keep him out until well into the knockout rounds, leaving Thomas Tuchel scrambling for right-back options after the player was seen beckoning to the bench in a 0-0 draw with Ghana and later missed the trip for
Reece James was seen beckoning to the bench late in England’s 0-0 draw with Ghana on Tuesday — a sign the hamstring issue that has now put his tournament in jeopardy was already biting. By Saturday. James had not travelled with the rest of the squad to New Jersey for the final Group L game against Panama. and the message coming out of camp was stark: his World Cup could be over if England fail to reach the latter stages.
England boss Thomas Tuchel has been told James will be unavailable until well into the knockout stages as he battles to recover from a hamstring injury. Tuchel had already used all five substitutions in the Ghana match, meaning James wasn’t able to be replaced when he appeared to need help.
It isn’t clear whether James having to stay on while the injury aggravated played a role in where things now stand. What is clear is that he arrived for the tournament fully fit, and England’s two opening games in the USA were the first back-to-back matches he has managed since March.
Tuchel’s problem isn’t only about one player. His back-up right back, Tino Livramento, withdrew from the squad before the first game — again because of a hamstring problem. With James absent. Tuchel has had to reshuffle his defensive options at a time when England are preparing for a tournament where a single weakness can be exploited.
The England coach decided to call up a centre-back, James’ Chelsea team-mate Trevoh Chalobah, in Livramento’s place. With James now sidelined. his right-back options aren’t straightforward: Djed Spence is the most obvious replacement but has been playing left-back for Tottenham. and was selected for this squad in that position as cover for Nico O’Reilly.
Jarrel Quansah — another centre-back — can play on the right, as can Ezri Konsa. But Quansah and Konsa are both set differently in the squad picture. Konsa is currently first choice in the middle of defence. while Quansah has only limited experience at right-back at the level required for England’s World Cup demands.
Quansah started two games for Liverpool at right-back before departing for Bayer Leverkusen last summer. Both matches were against Newcastle in the 2024/25 season, and Liverpool failed to win either. He has played at right-back for Tuchel’s England before. including playing 90 minutes in a 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Albania last November. when qualification for the finals had already been secured.
Konsa has also done the job at right-back in the England setup, playing 90 minutes in the 3-0 friendly win over Wales in October. Yet he has not played a single minute at right-back for Aston Villa this season.
When Tuchel discussed James’ injury. he said. “No one could see that coming. ” adding that the Chelsea captain had come into camp “in good shape.” Tuchel also explained the logic behind calling up Chalobah: “The thinking of calling Chalobah is to free up Quansah on the right full-back position for us.”.
He said he had seen Quansah playing strongly there for Liverpool and that Quansah “played enough in a back three — which is not so far from the position — in Leverkusen,” and pointed to Spence as part of the plan.
“No one could see that [James injury] coming. Reece was in good shape.” Tuchel added that he would find solutions without his key right-back: “Konsa played in that right-back position as well for us on a high level. No problem. We would love to have Reece as a key player but he’s not available. We will find solutions. That’s what we do.”.
For England, the timing makes it harder to ignore what has been building for years. Since the 2019/20 season, James has managed to play more than 50% of Premier League minutes only three times. Two of those came in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 campaigns, which were seasons when Tuchel was in charge at Stamford Bridge. The 2025/26 season just gone was the third occasion. and it may have offered Tuchel a glimmer of hope that he could rely on his first-choice right-back.
But the overall picture stays grim: in the three seasons prior to the latest, James averaged only 26% of Premier League minutes. Over the same span, he has been injured for 812 days.
That history is now colliding with a World Cup decision England can’t afford to get wrong. Former England right-back Danny Mills said. “I don’t understand the defensive selection especially once Livramento was out of the squad. I don’t get calling up Chalobah in the slightest.” Mills argued England now look “unbalanced. ” adding that he “didn’t get” the way the squad is built “going into the biggest tournament that you could potentially win after what England have done previously.”.
He said there is no recognised right-back in the squad and argued that using “square pegs into round holes” in a tournament where England will face the very best — including players like Mbappe and Yamal, as Mills put it — “makes it very difficult.”
As England prepare for Panama on Saturday, they may also have to manage fitness issues beyond the right-back problem. Elliot Anderson is still being assessed after suffering a glute injury against Ghana. and it is not thought to be serious. with a kick causing a dead leg. Declan Rice. Anderson’s midfield partner. did not train fully on Thursday but took part in the whole session on Friday.
Even though Tuchel says Anderson and Rice are available for selection, he is considering resting one or both against Panama so they can recover fully for the knockout games. Tuchel is expected to rotate his starting XI through the group stage into the knockouts.
England’s immediate task is tied to the group standings. To guarantee top spot in Group L, England need to match or better Ghana’s result against Croatia on the final matchday, which would set them up for what could be a theoretically easier route.
England are already through to the last 32 following results overnight on Friday night and into Saturday morning. If England top Group L, they are set to play Senegal in the first round of the knockout stages.
James, meanwhile, is said to be devastated by the situation but has decided not to leave the camp. The plan for him now is to stay with the squad and fight to be fit in the hope of playing some minutes in the latter stages — with England’s next selection choices bearing the weight of whether that hope turns into reality or ends sooner than he can bear.
Reece James hamstring England World Cup Thomas Tuchel Tino Livramento injury Trevoh Chalobah call-up Djed Spence Jarrel Quansah Ezri Konsa Declan Rice Elliot Anderson Panama Ghana Croatia Group L Senegal