Reece James is facing a race against time to be fit enough to return for England.
The Chelsea captain — named in England's final 26-man World Cup squad — started in both of the Three Lions' opening group matches. Despite not putting in his best performances, he played the full 90 minutes against Croatia and Ghana.
An all too familiar problem then occurred, though. The 26-year-old suffered a hamstring injury which saw him miss his country's final group game against Panama and their recent 2-1 victory over DR Congo in the Last 32 round.
Jarrel Quansah — his replacement at right-back — also picked up a knock and was unavailable for England's last match, and that has put huge pressure on Thomas Tuchel to find a solution ahead of a mammoth Last 16 tie against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium on Monday.
Reece James may also miss England's match against Mexico
Speaking about James and Quansah before the Three Lions' win against DR Congo, Tuchel said: “They’re getting close. I saw both of them on the pitch. Jarrell is a little bit ahead of Reece, but the race was close, even to make it into the squad this time.
“We need to make sure that we have more matches. That is the main focus, and then they will be available very soon.”
The German's comments suggest Quansah may be ready in time for the Mexicans but James could be forced to wait until the quarter final stage to make his return, assuming his teammates can get past Javier Aguirre's side first.
How Thomas Tuchel can mastermind potential World Cup quarter final against Brazil
Should England go to the Azteca on Monday and pull off a massive result, with Brazil preparing to take on Norway, fans will be expecting Tuchel's next challenge to come in the form of overcoming Carlo Ancelotti's Selecao in the next round.
And although Tuchel won't want his team to get too far ahead of themselves, there is no doubting he wouldn't have already thought about the possibility of England facing Brazil in Miami in July 11.
Should the stars align and the Three Lions end up facing Brazil in the quarter finals, Tuchel might already have the key to stopping one of the South American's biggest threats.
During his time in charge of Chelsea, Tuchel masterminded a famous UEFA Champions League win in the 2020-21 season. That campaign saw the Blues beat Real Madrid 3-1 on aggregate over two legs at the semi final stage. James played an important role in both of those matches.
Although the England international didn't start in either tie, he was introduced in the second half of both in place of Cesar Azpilicueta. Interestingly, both of those legs saw Tuchel line up with five at the back; a formation he has yet to set England up in at the 2026 World Cup.
The crucial factor in the Blues reaching the UEFA Champions League final that season came in the form of stopping Vini Junior. The Brazilian winger failed to lay a glove on Chelsea's defence over those two legs, the first of which saw the sides play out a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu before Chelsea cruised to a 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge in the reverse leg.
Although James and Vini Junior didn't go head-to-head in the first leg after both players were substituted — James on, Vini Junior off — at the same time, Tuchel certainly knew how to nullify Los Blancos' deadliest weapon.
The former Chelsea manager's past success of navigating tricky knockout ties, particularly ones where Vini Junior is expected to be the difference maker, could see him tweak England's back line, and that could lead to James being asked to form part of a five-man defence again.
This becomes an even bigger possibility when you consider how shaky and easily exploitable England's defence has been during the first half of the World Cup. They've looked a mess at the back and are in desperate need of tightening things up.
Either way, with Mexico in Mexico City first up, and James yet to be given all the clear to return, everything remains up for debate.
This is just one example of fans needing to trust that Tuchel is the best man for the job, and if anyone can to end England's 60 years of hurt, he can.
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