Huge Blow! England Rocked As Fresh Injury Ends Tino Livramento’s World Cup
by Devesh Jaganath | by Cydias Aujard
Trevoh Chalobah Set to Replace Livramento in England World Cup Squad
It has been a dramatic last 24 hours in the 2026 World Cup, which began with the shock of Spain being held to a goalless draw by tournament debutants Cape Verde just hours before Egypt and Saudi Arabia took a point apiece off Belgium and Uruguay, respectively.
Another massive headline has broken in the last hour, with England confirming that Newcastle United full-back Tino Livramento has now been ruled out of the 2026 World Cup after sustaining a hamstring injury in training this morning ahead of their opener against Croatia.
As discussed in our England vs Croatia prediction, Livramento was in contention to feature in their opener against Vatreni. Reece James is now the most likely to get the nod at right-back, with Nico O’Reilly set to occupy the left-back role.
Shortly after the news of the injury setback, England released a statement via their official X account confirming that Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah will replace the injured Livramento in the England squad for the remainder of the tournament.
Participating nations are permitted to replace injured players no later than 24 hours before their first World Cup fixture, provided the injury has been assessed by both the national team’s medical staff and appointed tournament medical officers and agreement is reached that the player is unable to continue.
Chalobah is set to return to the Three Lions setup following an underwhelming senior debut last summer, when he played the full 90 minutes in a 3-1 friendly loss to Senegal. He was on the bench against Serbia and Albania last year and missed out on the March international through injury.
Alexander-Arnold Snubbed Again Despite Open World Cup Spot
Thomas Tuchel shocked the world with some of his selection decisions for the World Cup, with Livramento being one of the biggest surprise inclusions ahead of stalwarts Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
While Walker and Trippier’s omissions were somewhat expected given their age, few foresaw Alexander-Arnold being left at home following his high-profile move to Spanish giants Real Madrid on a free transfer from Liverpool last summer.
With Tuchel now opting to call up Chalobah, who is a centre-back by trade, ahead of the former Liverpool full-back, questions are being raised around how far down the pecking order Alexander-Arnold has fallen in the national team’s setup.
England confirmed that Chalobah will not join the squad immediately, but he is expected to be in contention to feature in their second match of the competition against Ghana on June 23. As a result, James is now the only specialist right-back available for their opener against Croatia tomorrow night.
