Elliot Anderson is a doubt for England’s final Group L game against Panama with muscle soreness while Reece James will miss Saturday’s match with a minor hamstring problem in a pre-planned move.
Anderson, 23, started the first two matches of the World Cup in midfield for Thomas Tuchel’s side, playing a total of 163 minutes against Croatia and Ghana, but may not feature at MetLife Stadium with a glute issue.
Chelsea defender James, who has also started twice, could also miss the round of 32, should England qualify, but the issue is not believed to be serious and he should still play a significant part in the tournament, if the team progress.
England are almost guaranteed to advance to the knockout stage regardless of the outcome of Saturday’s game as at least one of the best third-place finishers.
They sit top of the group on goal difference, with theirs one better than Ghana’s, heading into the Panama match.
Anderson is set to complete a £116million ($153m) move to Manchester City from Nottingham Forest and has been given permission to undergo a medical after all parties have exchanged paperwork.
He has agreed a five-year deal with the option of a further year with a salary, if bonuses are achieved, that would see him earn in the region of £300,000 per week at the Etihad Stadium.
The fee will be the most ever paid for a British player and is a new club record for City, surpassing the £100m they paid for Jack Grealish in 2021.
Anderson has 11 caps for England after making his international debut in September, while James has appeared 26 times for his country.
‘England now have a major problem position’
Analysis by Jack Pitt-Brooke
When Thomas Tuchel sat down at MetLife Stadium on Friday evening, it was his first chance to speak since the news that Reece James was injured. Tuchel confirmed that James had suffered a “minor hamstring injury” which had kept him out of training, and said that he has not travelled with the rest of the squad to New York for Saturday’s game against Panama.
Tuchel tried to stay optimistic, saying that James was in “an accelerated rehabilitation programme” and that he “strongly believes he will be available for us in the tournament”. When asked specifically whether James was also out of England’s round of 32 game — likely be on Wednesday in Atlanta — Tuchel would not rule it out. “It can be a tight one,” he said, “but hopes are still alive”.
James’ injury is England’s second at full-back after Tino Livramento went home last week with a calf injury. That puts further scrutiny on Tuchel’s selections, not least his decision not to call up Trent Alexander-Arnold for the tournament, whether at the end of May or when Livramento dropped out.
Tuchel insisted again that he is happy with his options at right-back. Djed Spence becomes the leading specialist right-back in the squad, even though he generally plays left-back for Tottenham Hotspur, and played there for England against Ghana in Boston. Tuchel again spoke of Jarell Quansah’s usefulness at right-back, and said that Quansah has been “freed up” to play full-back by his decision to call up Trevoh Chalobah. He mentioned that Ezri Konsa has played there too.
Tuchel always puts a brave face on things and at right-back he said that he would “find solutions”. But there is no avoiding the fact that this is now England’s major problem position going into the knock-out rounds next week.
