England handed huge blow ahead of opening match as star set to miss World Cup due to injury

England have been handed a huge injury blow just hours ahead of the opening match of their 2026 World Cup campaign.

Thomas Tuchel's side are set to begin their tournament with a clash against Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday night. They also face Ghana and Panama in Group L.

England's preparation for the tournament went well with friendly wins over New Zealand and Costa Rica, but reports suggest they have suffered an injury setback on the eve of their first match,

The Telegraph claims that defender Tino Livramento has suffered a hamstring injury in training and is now expected to miss the entire tournament this summer.

The 23-year-old played 45 minutes in the 1-0 victory over New Zealand but was an unused substitute as they defeated Costa Rica 3-0 in their final warm-up match.

It is suggested that England boss Tuchel will call up Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah as the replacement for the Newcastle United full-back.

Livramento has made six senior England appearances since his debut two years ago, but his injury setback is disruptive to the camp so soon before their opening match. He was limited to just 26 appearances for Newcastle last season, during a campaign that was disrupted by a series of different injuries.

Chalobah, 26, has just one England cap to his name, which came in the damaging 3-1 friendly defeat to Senegal last year. It could serve as another blow to Manchester United ace Harry Maguire, who was bitterly disappointed to miss out on an initial call-up and is set to be overlooked by a less experienced defender once again.

Maguire did not make the initial 26-man World Cup squad, with Tuchel preferring to pick Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi, Jarell Quansah, Dan Burn and John Stones as his five central defenders.

The former Leicester City defender posted a statement in response to his omission, stating that he had "been left shocked and gutted by the decision." In addition, his family took to social media to call his snub "disgusting".

Tuchel said he was "surprised" to read Maguire's statement and revealed that they "had a private conversation and he had the chance to express his feelings”.

It is widely believed that Manchester City veteran Stones and Aston Villa star Konsa will be the preferred centre-back partnership at the World Cup this summer.