England defender Tino Livramento has surgery after World Cup injury heartbreak | OneFootball

England defender Tino Livramento has undergone surgery after being forced to withdraw from the World Cup squad, his club Newcastle United has confirmed.

The full-back sustained a calf injury just days before England's opening match of the summer tournament against Croatia.

Livramento was subsequently replaced in the squad by Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah and returned to Newcastle for treatment. The Magpies provided an update on his condition on Tuesday.

A statement from the club read: "Newcastle United can confirm that Tino Livramento has successfully undergone a minor surgical procedure. The defender, who returned from World Cup duty with an injury, is expected to return during pre-season."

The 23-year-old had only recently made a comeback, featuring as a substitute in England’s friendly against New Zealand on June 6, after missing the conclusion of Newcastle’s 2025-26 campaign due to a thigh injury.

England have a right-back crisis with Livramento and Reece James injured (Reuters)

Livramento’s injury coupled with Reece James suffering a hamstring issue has left Thomas Tuchel with limited options to pick from at full-back heading into England’s round of 32 clash with DR Congo on Wednesday.

The German boss looks likely to start with Djed Spence and Nico O’Reilly as his full-backs, but he did pick Jarell Quansah to cover at right-back in England’s 2-0 win over Panama on Saturday.

Quansah suffered a twisted ankle during the second half and is a doubt for England’s first knockout game.

England are aiming to reach the last-16 where they would face either co-hosts Mexico or Ecuador. However, Tuchel’s side will have to be wary of a potential upset after Germany and the Netherlands were knocked out of the World Cup on Monday evening.

Germany were dumped out on penalties by Paraguay, while the Netherlands suffered the same fate at the hands of Morocco.

Meanwhile, Brazil came from behind to beat Japan 2-1, and Carlo Ancelotti’s side and England could meet each other in the quarter-finals.

The two teams also clashed in the last-eight back in 2002, with Brazil securing a 2-1 victory before going on to win the World Cup.

England took the lead in that game through Michael Owen, before Rivaldo and Ronaldinho turned the match back in Brazil’s favour.