England hit with another injury headache ahead of Mexico clash

Thomas Tuchel has yet another injury problem at full-back (Picture: Getty Images)

Thomas Tuchel has been hit with another injury headache ahead of England taking on Mexico at the World Cup, with Djed Spence unlikely to be fit enough to start.

Right-back has been something of a nightmare position for Tuchel at the World Cup after a string of injury issues.

Tino Livramento had to head home due to injury before England’s campaign began, replaced in the squad by centre-back Trevoh Chalobah.

Since then Reece James has suffered a hamstring problem and Jarell Quansah injured an ankle.

Spence started at right-back against DR Congo in the last 32, but did not have a great game and Declan Rice finished the match in the position.

Now the Spurs full-back has also picked up a problem, with Sky Sports reporting that Spence is ‘nursing an injury’ and is unlikely to start in Mexico City.

There has been better news about Quansah, who has returned to training and Tuchel confirmed at a pre-match press conference that he is available.

Djed Spence has suffered an injury ahead of the last 16 match (Picture: Getty Images)

James is also closing on a return to fitness, but Tuchel only suggested that the Chelsea star could be on the bench at the Azteca.

‘You saw Jarell train. He trained today and is fully available,’ Tuchel told a press conference on Saturday.

‘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.’

Jarell Quansah may return to the starting XI against Mexico (Picture: Getty Images)

Bayer Leverkusen’s Quansah started the 2-0 win over Panama in the group stage but had to be substituted after picking up the ankle problem which kept him out of the win over DR Congo.

When Livramento was injured and Tuchel replaced him in the squad with Chalobah, he did suggest that Quansah can focus on being back-up to James at right-back, rather than have any duties 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,’ said the German.

Tuchel has urged his players to be sensible and efficient with their energy when they take on Mexico at altitude on Sunday, having warned them of how hard the first 15 minutes can seem.

‘We’re too fast in our attacks,’ he said of England’s performances so far. ‘It’s almost like every attack plays out like a fast attack.

‘We need to understand that sometimes the door is closed, it doesn’t help if you rush into it. Try the other door. Find another way.

‘And worship the ball possession. Also to recharge. Otherwise we just run our batteries down with a huge effort and not so much reward.

‘Talking about the first 15-20 minutes, we also expect that it feels very, very hard. What other teams tell us who went in there late, without acclimatisation, is that the first 15-20 minutes are where you basically hit a wall. But when you go through it, it gets better. That’s exactly why Mexico starts their games like this. They just want to suffocate you.’

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