Reece James ruled out of England's Panama clash with hamstring injury, leaving Tuchel short of right-back options

Reece James has been ruled out of England’s World Cup Group L finale against Panama on Saturday after sustaining a hamstring injury, leaving Thomas Tuchel short of specialist right-back cover and casting doubt over the Chelsea captain’s availability for the last-32 tie as well.

England are all but through to the knockout stages following a 4-2 win over Croatia and a 0-0 draw with Ghana, and currently sit top of Group L on four points — level with Ghana. The result against Panama will determine whether they finish first or second, adding further pressure to Tuchel’s selection call.

The situation is complicated by the pre-tournament exit of Tino Livramento, who left the squad before England’s opening game, leaving the manager with no like-for-like replacement. Here are the four candidates Tuchel is likely to consider.

Djed Spence is the most natural fit. The Tottenham defender was included in the squad partly for his versatility across the backline, and has already shown he can operate at right-back. Against Croatia he came on in the second half, initially replacing Jude Bellingham before slotting into the right-back role as James pushed into midfield, combining well with Bukayo Saka. He started at left-back against Ghana but England looked more threatening once Nico O’Reilly came on, suggesting Spence is more effective on his natural side.

Ezri Konsa offers another option. The Aston Villa centre-back has filled in at right-back for England before and has the pace to handle counter-attacking threats. The case against him is that Tuchel may be reluctant to unsettle a centre-back pairing that has been consistent throughout pre-tournament preparation and both opening fixtures.

Jarell Quansah has played right-back sporadically at Liverpool, though his two most notable appearances there — a 3-3 draw with Newcastle and a League Cup final — did not go especially well. His time at Leverkusen, operating on the right of a back three alongside German wing-back Montrell Culbreath, has given him more recent experience on that flank.

With Spence the only specialist in the group, Tuchel’s decision may ultimately hinge on whether he trusts a makeshift option to hold the right side or whether he reshuffles his defensive structure more significantly for a game England will be expected to win.