Spence to wear protective mask for England at World Cup due to broken jaw | OneFootball

June 9 (Reuters) – England defender Djed Spence said he will have to play while wearing a protective mask at the World Cup after suffering a broken jaw in a Premier League match last month.

The Tottenham Hotspur player sustained the injury in a collision with Chelsea striker Liam Delap and had to wear a mask in their final match of the season against Everton.

“It’s a little bit uncomfortable but it is what it is,” Spence told reporters on Monday.

“I’ve got a broken jaw so I have to wear it throughout the tournament. It’s something I will have to get used to. It’ll be three months until it’s fully healed, so it’s a long time.”

Spence, who played to the end of the match against Chelsea, said he had not been worried that he might be sidelined due to the injury.

“It was painful but luckily I play football with my feet and not my jaw. So I was all good,” the 25-year-old added.

England open their World Cup campaign against Croatia in Dallas on June 17 before taking on Ghana and Panama.

Thomas Tuchel has revealed that Jude Bellingham faces a fight to get into the starting XI for England at the World Cup.

When asked whether Bellingham has a fight on his hands to be in the line-up, Tuchel said “Yes, he has.

“He is one of the starters, he knows he is one of the starters, but we have 14 or 15 potential starters. These roles can always change, but at the moment I think there are like 14 or 15 proper starters and Jude is one of them.”

Tuchel added: “He [Jude] looks good. He looks good in training. I think he is at the moment in a sweet spot because he has had his break and he has the hunger to be back on the pitch and after injury – this is normal. And he is so happy to be back on the pitch. You take everything in.”