Reece James will miss England’s next two World Cup matches at least as he fights to recover from a hamstring injury. The right-back, who has a history of problems in the muscle, reported tightness after the team’s 0-0 draw against Ghana in Boston on Tuesday.
The Chelsea captain did not train in Kansas City on Friday and Thomas Tuchel later confirmed the defender did not travel with the rest of the squad to New York, where they will play Panama in their final group phase game on Saturday. James will sit that one out and also the last-32 tie which will follow.
Tuchel confirms minor hamstring injury
“We see it as a minor hamstring issue, minor hamstring injury. He was not able to train in the last two days,” said Tuchel. “He is now in an accelerated rehabilitation programme and we take it game by game, but we strongly believe that he will be available for us in the tournament. No one could see that coming. Reece was in good shape and felt very good.”
“It’s a bit unlucky, but as for Jarell Quansah playing in the position as well for us on a high level, it’s still no problem. We would love to have Reece as a key player, we would love to have him on the way, but he’s not available. We will find solutions, that’s what we do. It’s a short period of time, it’s a tournament.”
Asked whether James could be fit for England’s next game, Tuchel added: “We have hopes for the next match. It can be a tight one.”
James' injury history and impact
James hurt his hamstring playing for Chelsea against Newcastle on 14 March and was out for nearly two months. Tuchel considers him his first-choice right-back and was always going to rely on him at the World Cup. He used him for 90 minutes against Croatia in the opening game, which England won 4-2, and Ghana.
Yet there was always an element of risk about the situation given how James has to have his minutes managed and the congested nature of the World Cup. England hope to play eight matches in 33 days during their stay in North America.
Limited full-back options for Tuchel
Tuchel had selected Tino Livramento as his backup right-back only to lose the Newcastle player on the eve of the tournament to a calf injury in training. The manager responded by calling up the Chelsea centre-half Trevoh Chalobah and saying that Quansah – a central defender by trade – could cover at right-back. Tuchel’s other options at right-back are Ezri Konsa – also a centre-half – and Djed Spence.
He opted against calling up the Real Madrid right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, a player that he does not appear to trust. Tuchel has only selected Alexander-Arnold for one camp – in June of last year.
