England's World Cup preparations have been dealt a blow after Newcastle defender Tino Livramento suffered a calf injury. The 23-year-old, who was seen as a back-up option for Reece James and Nico O'Rourke, was injured in training on Sunday afternoon and will miss the Three Lions' opening group fixture against Croatia on Wednesday.
Livramento's injury is a significant blow for Thomas Tuchel's preparations for the tournament, coming just one day before the Three Lions' opener. Fortunately, Fifa regulations allow participating teams to replace an outfield player up to 24 hours before their opening fixture.
Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah has been called up to replace Livramento in the squad and will be available for subsequent group matches against Ghana and Panama. Chalobah, who played under Tuchel at Chelsea, has one England cap to his name and made 34 Premier League appearances for the Blues this season.
The World Cup was Livramento's first major tournament call-up, and his injury is a hammer blow for the defender, who has five caps to his name. England's first game is against Croatia, who they lost to in the 2018 semi-finals, in Dallas on Wednesday at 9pm BST.
Tuchel will be hoping that Chalobah can step in and fill the void left by Livramento's injury. The Chelsea defender has experience playing under Tuchel and has shown his ability to adapt to the England setup.