Reece James will miss at least England's next two World Cup matches after sustaining a hamstring injury. The Chelsea right-back reported tightness following the team's 0-0 draw with Ghana in Boston on Tuesday.
Thomas Tuchel confirmed that James did not travel with the squad to New York for Saturday's group phase finale against Panama. The defender will also sit out the last-32 tie. 'We see it as a minor hamstring issue,' 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.'
James has a history of hamstring problems, having missed nearly two months after a similar injury in March. Tuchel considers him his first-choice right-back and used him for the full 90 minutes in both the opening win over Croatia and the Ghana draw. The congested World Cup schedule, with up to eight matches in 33 days, had raised concerns about managing his minutes.
Tuchel's backup right-back, Tino Livramento, was ruled out on the eve of the tournament with a calf injury. The manager has called up Chelsea centre-half Trevoh Chalobah and may use central defender Jarell Quansah at right-back. Other options include Ezri Konsa and Djed Spence, while Trent Alexander-Arnold was not selected, as Tuchel has only called him up once since June last year.
