World Cup 2026: Rice, James injury concerns mount for England ahead of knockouts

England’s World Cup campaign is being shadowed by growing injury concerns over Declan Rice and Reece James, with both players central to Thomas Tuchel’s plans as the knockout stages intensify. The Independent’s ongoing injury tracker also highlights fresh fitness worries for Spain, while Brazil received a major boost with Neymar’s long-awaited return from a calf problem.

Rice has been carrying nerve-related back pain throughout the tournament and was rested for England’s group finale against Panama before returning for the tense last-32 win over DR Congo. He was withdrawn during the second half of that match, with Tuchel stressing it was not a fresh injury but that the West Ham product had been in discomfort.

James remains sidelined as right side struggles

James has missed England’s last two matches, sitting out the group-stage clash with Panama and watching from the sidelines as his side narrowly avoided an upset against DR Congo. His absence has left England noticeably exposed down the right, feeding into a wider defensive injury crisis in that area of the pitch.

Tuchel remains hopeful the Chelsea full-back will be “available very soon”, though James was again absent from England’s first training session following the victory over DR Congo. His continued absence adds further pressure on Tuchel to reshuffle his backline heading into the next round.

Spain hit by double blow to Williams and Pino

Spain have also been dealing with significant injury setbacks after wingers Nico Williams and Yeremy Pino were both hurt during their group finale against Uruguay. Crystal Palace’s Pino suffered a collarbone injury that initially raised fears he could miss the remainder of the tournament, but X-rays confirmed it was an acromioclavicular sprain rather than a fracture.

That diagnosis allowed Pino to return to Spain’s squad for their round of 32 win over Austria, though he did not feature off the bench. Williams, meanwhile, sustained a groin problem in the same match against Uruguay and expressed his frustration on social media.

“Today is one of the worst days of my life,” Williams wrote. “I am injured again after a very difficult year. Yesterday, I suffered a new injury following an incident where a fellow professional acted out of frustration, unhappiness, and sadness over the situation he was going through. In my opinion, it was a play that could have been avoided, as it was completely unnecessary. But this won’t stop me.”

Like Pino, Williams was named among the substitutes for Spain’s win over Austria but did not come on.

Neymar’s return lifts Brazil

Elsewhere, one of the tournament’s biggest injury sagas appears to have reached a positive conclusion after Neymar made an emotional return off the bench for Brazil against Scotland. The 34-year-old had been sidelined by a calf injury suffered just three weeks before the World Cup began.

His cameo came as Brazil topped Group C, raising hopes that Neymar could now play a bigger part as the Selecao push through the knockout stages.

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