England right-back crisis deepens as Quansah and James miss training

England’s right-back cover took another hit on Tuesday when Jarell Quansah and Reece James were the only squad members not out training at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, both instead following individual rehabilitation programmes.

James had already missed England’s 2-0 win over Panama after the hamstring injury he picked up in the 0-0 draw with Ghana, and Quansah stepped in to make his World Cup debut. That stopgap ended quickly, with Quansah forced off against Panama with an ankle problem of his own. Tuchel said James could still be in contention for the DR Congo match, but the pair’s absence from Tuesday’s session made that look increasingly doubtful.

The chain of losses has left England with limited natural options on the right side of defence. Tino Livramento withdrew from the squad on the eve of the tournament with a calf injury, prompting the call-up of Trevoh Chalobah, and the official squad list still includes all six names, including James, Quansah, Djed Spence, Ezri Konsa, Chalobah and Livramento, despite the injuries that have thinned the position during the group stage. England named its 26-man World Cup squad on 22 May 2026.

Tuchel now has to decide whether to use Djed Spence on the right, even though he has mainly been deployed as a left-back in this tournament, or to turn to Ezri Konsa as a makeshift full-back from centre-half. Spence would offer more natural pace and width higher up the flank, while Konsa would usually give England more security in possession and a stronger defensive platform, but less overlapping thrust.

Declan Rice returned to training after being rested for the Panama match, and Bukayo Saka completed his first start of the tournament against Panama after recovering from an Achilles problem.