Saliba faces race to recover as Rice and James nurse World Cup injury concerns

France and England are sweating over key players at the 2026 World Cup, with William Saliba facing a race to be fit for the third-place play-off after being forced off in France’s semi-final defeat to Spain, while Declan Rice and Reece James remain concerns for England ahead of their semi-final against Argentina.

William Saliba (France)

Everything went wrong for France in their semi-final loss to Spain, and the injury to William Saliba was among the most damaging blows. The Arsenal defender went down untouched on the ball and immediately looked dejected, with it quickly becoming apparent he would not be able to continue. Saliba now faces a race against time to be available for the third-place play-off.

Declan Rice (England)

Rice’s tournament has been disrupted by a combination of neural back pain and illness. The back problem forced England to manage his workload during the group stage, causing him to miss the finale against Panama, though he started both knockout matches that followed.

Illness then struck ahead of the quarter-final against Norway. Despite missing two days of training, Rice recovered sufficiently to start but looked out of sorts and was replaced at half-time. He did return to training on the eve of the Argentina semi-final, with head coach Thomas Tuchel expressing confidence over his availability.

Reece James (England)

James missed England’s last three World Cup matches as he recovered from a hamstring problem, sitting out the round-of-16 win over Mexico. His absence was made more acute by injuries to other right-back options in the squad. He finally returned to action against Norway in the quarter-finals, coming off the bench.

The broader picture

Not all injury news from the tournament has been grim. Spain winger Lamine Yamal returned to full fitness and has been a regular fixture throughout, while Neymar managed to get minutes for Brazil before their elimination at the hands of Norway — appearances that are expected to mark his final World Cup. Spain have also coped without wingers Yeremy Pino and Victor Munoz since the group stage, storming through to the final regardless.