England injury report: Declan Rice, Reece James join Three Lions growing list of key injuries before knockouts

England injury report: Declan Rice, Reece James join Three Lions growing list of key injuries before knockouts originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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As England prepares to play its final group stage match of the tournament, the team is dealing with several key injuries.

The Three Lions still have yet to clinch their group, and since their draw with Ghana have been forced to manage a few injuries during practice. Key players like Declan Rice and Reece James are important pieces of teh team who aren’t at 100 percent at this point in the tournament.

While England shouldn’t have too much trouble with Panama, these injuries could force this into a closer match if the team is not at full strength. Still, England has eyes on a bigger prize than just winning the group, which will play into how manager Thomas Tuchel deploys his lineup on Saturday.

Here’s the latest on England’s injuries in the World Cup.

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England injury report

Declan Rice

Rice left England’s game against Ghana with a calf injury and missed practice after, but he should be able to play in England’s final group stage match against Panama. Rice was able to practice on Friday, a sign that he will be able to go on Saturday afternoon.

Reece James

After playing in each of England’s first two matches, James suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out of Saturday’s match. However, the team doesn’t believe it is a long-term issue.

“Reecey has a minor hamstring issue,” manager Thomas Tuchel said, via ESPN. “He was not able to train the last two days. He is now in an accelerated rehabilitation program. We take it game by game but we strongly believe he will be available for us in the tournament.”

Tuchel did say that James’ availability for England’s first group stage match would be a close call and dependent on how James feels.

Elliot Anderson

Anderson started for England in its first two matches, but came out of the second match with muscle soreness. Thomas Tuchel said Anderson is available to start against Panama, but it’s unclear if that will be the case or how much Anderson will play.

“They both had minor issues after the match but had enough time to recover,” Tuchel said about both Anderson and Rice. “So everyone but Reece James is available and ready to go. But we will take the decision tonight.”

Ben White

England is missing two key players for the World Cup due to injuries that occurred before the tournament. Defenseman Ben White suffered a knee injury in May while playing for Arsenal, forcing England to keep him off the roster. 

Tino Livramento

In a practice before the World Cup began, defender Tino Livramento injured his calf and had to be replaced on England’s roster. Livramento’s recovery time is about six weeks, at which point the World Cup will be over.