Jordan Henderson suffered a freak injury during England's post-match celebrations against Mexico, and now his involvement for the rest of the World Cup is in serious doubt. However, England will be forced to continue with a 25-man squad if Henderson is ruled out, as FIFA regulations do not permit replacing an outfield player after the first group match.
Henderson's Injury Details
Henderson slipped while climbing back over one of the advertising hoardings at the Estadio Azteca as the England players celebrated with supporters at full-time and landed awkwardly on his right arm. He received treatment before being given oxygen and carried away on a stretcher, and later taken to hospital with a “serious” wrist injury.
“Mixed feelings because I am exhausted, of course, and emotional but also sad because Jordan got injured,” England boss Thomas Tuchel said after the game. “He injured his wrist. He is at the moment at the hospital, so it is quite a serious injury. It just doesn’t fit to the evening that Jordan is now not with us. I don’t know the procedure what is going on. I just did the press, and the doc told me he’s in hospital.”
Standard Sport understands that Henderson is staying in Mexico City with a member of England’s medical staff and not travelling back with the rest of the squad to their World Cup base in Kansas City.
Can England Name a Replacement?
In short, no. Rules state that the final deadline to officially name a replacement is up to 24 hours before a nation's opening group match. For England, this was before the 4-2 win over Croatia on June 17. If an outfield player is injured after this exact point, a replacement cannot be called up. As such, the Three Lions would be forced to carry on in the tournament with just 25 players if Henderson receives the worst possible news.
Comparison with Previous Squad Changes
England were able to react when Tino Livramento suffered an injury on the eve of the tournament and called up Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah as his replacement. As players in the 26-man World Cup squad can only be replaced by those also named in the 55-man provisional squad, Chalobah was on England’s standby list.
Interestingly, FIFA have a completely different set of emergency rules regarding goalkeepers. Unlike outfielders, an injured goalkeeper can actually be replaced at any time during the tournament if a medical emergency arises.
