Reece James could miss England World Cup knockout game with hamstring injury | OneFootball

England have suffered an injury blow with Reece James ruled out of their clash with Panama because of a hamstring problem.

The right-back is also a doubt for their last-32 tie as he faces a race against time to be available for England’s first knockout match.

Manager Thomas Tuchel said: "Reece has a minor hamstring issue. He was not able to train in the last two days. He is now in an accelerated rehabilitation programme and we take it game by game. But there is some belief that he will be available for us [again] in the tournament.

“We have hopes that he will be fit for the next match. It can be a tight one. But the hopes are still alive.”

It leaves Tuchel with further problems in the position after Tino Livramento was ruled out of the World Cup.

Tuchel opted not to pick Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, either in his initial squad or when choosing Chelsea centre-back Trevoh Chalobah to replace Livramento.

Djed Spence, Ezri Konsa and Jarell Quansah are the likeliest candidates to stand in for James in the match at the MetLife Stadium.

Tuchel explained: "The thinking of calling Chalobah to free up Quansah on the right full-back position for us. I saw him playing very strongly there playing for Liverpool and he played enough in a back three - which is not so far from the position - in Leverkusen.

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James's injury means England will turn to Djed Spence, Ezri Konsa or Jarell Quansah to fill in at right-back (Reuters)

"And we have Djed Spence. No one could see that coming, Reece was in good shape. Konsa played in that right-back position as well for us on a high level. No problem. We would love to have Reece as a key player, but he's not available. We will find solutions. That's what we do."

James has started both England’s win over Croatia and draw with Ghana but has been limited to 26 caps in an injury-hit career.

The Chelsea captain was absent for eight weeks between March and May with a hamstring strain before returning at the end of the season.

Last week, James said he was bored of talking about his history of injuries. He told BBC 5 Live: "I have one job, which is to be the best I can when I'm on the pitch. To be honest, I understand the stigma at the start, but after a while it gets boring.

"I've been fit for a long time before my last injury, and I don't listen to too much noise. People always talk about injuries and availability, and to me it's so boring now.”