Thomas Tuchel faces another injury setback ahead of England's World Cup clash with Mexico, with Djed Spence unlikely to be fit to start. The right-back position has been a persistent problem for the England manager throughout the tournament.
Right-back crisis deepens
Spence, who started against DR Congo in the last 32, struggled in that match and was replaced by Declan Rice. Now, according to Sky Sports, the Tottenham full-back is 'nursing an injury' and is not expected to start in Mexico City. This adds to a string of issues that have plagued the position.
Earlier, Tino Livramento was forced to withdraw from the squad before the tournament began due to injury, with Trevoh Chalobah called up as a replacement. Reece James then suffered a hamstring problem, and Jarell Quansah injured his ankle.
Positive news on Quansah and James
There is some good news: Quansah has returned to training and is fully available, as Tuchel confirmed in a pre-match press conference. 'You saw Jarell train. He trained today and is fully available,' Tuchel said. Reece James is also nearing a return, but Tuchel indicated he might only make the bench. 'Reece can maybe make it onto the bench, but we need the last assessment from the doctors and the medical opinion [as to] whether this makes sense,' he added.
Quansah, who plays for Bayer Leverkusen, started England's 2-0 group-stage win over Panama but was substituted after picking up an ankle injury that kept him out of the DR Congo match. When Livramento was injured, Tuchel noted that Quansah would focus on being back-up to James at right-back rather than playing in central defence. 'We called up Trevoh Chalobah so we free up Jarell Quansah as a full-back as Djed Spence plays both sides so Chalobah comes in at central defence to give us full coverage,' the German explained.
