The World Cup knockout rounds are here, and so are the injuries. Some teams are limping into the quarterfinals, others are just hoping their stars can walk straight by kickoff.
England’s right-back situation has gone from bad to worse. Reece James has missed three straight matches with a hamstring issue, and he wasn’t available for the round of 16 win over Mexico. That alone was a problem. But then Djed Spence picked up a muscular niggle, and Jarell Quansah came back from his own injury only to get sent off against Mexico. So now England is basically playing musical chairs at a position that was supposed to be deep.
Meanwhile, Jordan Henderson is out for the rest of the tournament after a bizarre moment following that Mexico win. He jumped over an advertising hoarding, landed wrong, and snapped his arm. Needs surgery. Can’t play. It’s the kind of thing that makes you wince just reading about it.
England also lost Tino Livramento before the tournament even started. The Newcastle defender tore a calf muscle, went under the knife, and won’t be back. Thomas Tuchel decided to call up Trevoh Chalobah, a center-back, instead of other fullback options like Trent Alexander-Arnold or Myles Lewis-Skelly. That decision looks more questionable by the day.
Spain has its own problems. Nico Williams and Yeremy Pino both went down against Uruguay in the third group match. Pino initially looked like he’d broken his collarbone, but X-rays showed it was just an AC sprain. He was on the bench for the round of 32 win over Austria but didn’t play. Williams suffered a groin issue in the same game and posted on social media that it was one of the worst days of his life. He also made the bench against Austria but stayed there.
Morocco’s Ismael Saibari pulled up with what looked like a hamstring strain in the round of 16 win over Canada. The Atlas Lions have a massive quarterfinal against France coming up, and they need him. But nobody knows how bad it is yet.
France is dealing with Aurelien Tchouameni and a thigh problem that kept him out of the Paraguay match. He’s racing the clock for that Morocco game.
Argentina got Cristian Romero back from a knee injury, but then Medina limped off with a calf issue against Cape Verde. Lionel Scaloni can’t catch a break.
USA defender Auston Trusty rolled his ankle against Turkey and said afterward he was in his head about it. He missed the round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
New Liverpool signing Munoz hasn’t played a single minute at this World Cup. He pulled a calf before the tournament started, then got diagnosed with another muscle injury. He’s back on the field but training alone.
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