England boss Thomas Tuchel confirms Reece James will miss Panama clash
Thomas Tuchel has confirmed Reece James will miss England’s final group match and faces a race against time to be fit for their first World Cup knockout match.
The 26-year-old played the entirety of the 4-2 win against Croatia last week and Tuesday’s 0-0 draw with Ghana, but is dealing with a hamstring issue ahead of the Group L finale against already eliminated Panama.
England midfielders Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson have overcome niggles to be available, but James has been ruled out of Saturday’s MetLife Stadium meeting and could yet miss more time.
“Reecey has a minor hamstring issue, a minor hamstring injury,” Tuchel said. “He was not able to train the last two days.
“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.”
England arrived in the Tri-State area all but assured of progress and determined to top Group L, which would earn them a Wednesday clash in Atlanta against a third-placed side.
Their ticket to the next stage was secured on Friday evening thanks to Spain’s 1-0 win over Uruguay.
Asked about James’ availability for the round of 32, Tuchel said: “We have hopes for the next match.
“It can be a tight one, but hopes are still alive. He didn’t travel with us (for the Panama game).”
James’ latest hamstring issue compounds the absence of back-up Tino Livramento, who withdrew from the England squad just before the Croatia match due to a calf injury.
Central defender Trevoh Chalobah was selected as replacement instead of a specialist right-back like Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, but Tuchel defended his selection process.
“We called Trevoh Chalobah up to free up Jarell Quansah on the right full-back position for us,” the England manager said.
“I saw him very strong there playing for Liverpool and he played in a back three, which is not so far away from the position at Leverkusen and we have Djed Spence.
“No-one could see that coming. Reece was in good shape and felt very good, so it’s a bit unlucky but Ezri Konsa played in the position for us on a high level. We have still no problem.
“We would love to have Reecey, he is a key player. We would love to have him available, he is not available. We will find solutions. That’s what we do. It’s a short period of time, it’s a tournament.
“I selected the team, so, yeah, we’re happy with the characteristic of the players and the strengths that they give us.”
Tuchel has decisions to make over the composition of his side on Saturday as he seeks to balance the need to equal or better Ghana’s result to top Group L with keeping players fresh.
The England boss only made two changes to his starting line-up on Tuesday and has 25 players to choose from on Saturday, including a fully fit Bukayo Saka after working his way back from an Achilles injury.
“We agreed with Bukayo, and especially with the medical department and in very tight cooperation with Arsenal, that this is the way to build him up,” Tuchel said after two substitute appearances.
“He is now, since many days, fully free of pain, fully free of discomfort, and is ready to go and ready to start, like Marcus (Rashford), like Anthony (Gordon), like Noni (Madueke).
“We have a lot of options and, yeah, the players make it difficult for me to take a choice, but we have the full choice tomorrow.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub