Newcastle United defender Tino Livramento faces a race against time to save his World Cup campaign after picking up a muscular injury in training.
The 23-year-old suffered the problem during a training session on Sunday and is currently being assessed by England’s medical staff.
His situation is made more precarious by the fact he had already been carrying concerns into the tournament following a thigh injury that ruled him out for the final five weeks of the club season.
England open their World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday night, with kick-off scheduled for 21:00 BST.
Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah, currently named on England’s stand-by list, is considered a likely replacement should Livramento be ruled out of the squad entirely.
Tournament regulations allow outfield players who suffer a serious injury or illness to be replaced up to 24 hours before their nation’s first match gets under way.
Livramento was handed his international debut by Gareth Southgate in November 2024 and has since gone on to feature five times under Thomas Tuchel, starting on two occasions.
He came on at half-time during England’s 1-0 warm-up victory over New Zealand but was left unused on the bench in the subsequent friendly against Costa Rica.
Right-back remains a position of concern for Tuchel, with first-choice Reece James also carrying fitness doubts after another injury-disrupted season at Chelsea.
The 26-year-old missed nine games for Chelsea towards the end of the campaign due to a hamstring injury, adding further anxiety to England’s defensive options heading into the tournament.
Should Livramento be officially withdrawn, Tuchel already has other options within the existing squad, including Djed Spence and Ezri Konsa.
Spence, capable of operating on either flank, has made six appearances under Tuchel, while Konsa has featured 11 times for England, including nine starts.
Chalobah himself has not pulled on an England shirt since June 2025, when he played the full 90 minutes in a friendly against Senegal, though he sat on the bench during several World Cup qualifiers.
Like Konsa, Chalobah’s preferred position is centre-back, meaning his inclusion would represent a positional reshuffle rather than a like-for-like replacement at full-back.
England will be eager to resolve the situation swiftly given the narrow window available before Wednesday’s opener against Croatia brings their 2026 World Cup campaign to life.
