Soccer-England's Chalobah to replace injured Livramento for World Cup
England Squad Update Ahead of World Cup
By Lori Ewing
Chalobah Called Up After Livramento Injury
KANSAS CITY, Missouri, June 16 (Reuters) - Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah has been called into England's World Cup squad after a calf injury forced the withdrawal of Newcastle's Tino Livramento.
The 23-year-old Livramento suffered the injury in training on Sunday and a scan and medical assessment on Monday confirmed he could not play in the tournament.
FIFA Regulations on Squad Changes
World governing body FIFA allows teams to make changes to their final 26-man squads up to 24 hours before their first group match in cases of significant injury.
England debut against Croatia in Group L on Wednesday.
Travel Plans and Team Arrangements
Chalobah will travel to the team's base camp in Kansas City, while the rest of the squad will head to Dallas for Wednesday's game, England's Football Association said in a statement.
Livramento's Injury History
Livramento's place had already been uncertain after he missed the final five weeks of the domestic season with a thigh problem in an injury-filled campaign.
He made only 17 Premier League appearances for Newcastle, suffering two knee injuries that ruled him out for two months before a January hamstring injury sidelined him for 15 matches.
International Experience
Livramento made his England debut under Gareth Southgate in November 2024 and has been capped five times under Thomas Tuchel, starting twice.
He came on at half-time in a 1-0 warm-up win over New Zealand but did not feature in the subsequent friendly against Costa Rica.
Right-Back Options for England
Right-back is already a concern for England, with Reece James also battling fitness issues after an injury-hit campaign. The 26-year-old missed nine games for Chelsea late in the season with a hamstring problem.
Other Defensive Options
Djed Spence and Ezri Konsa are also options. Spence, who can play on either side, has made six appearances under Tuchel, while Konsa, who is primarily a centre-back, has 11 caps, including nine starts.
Chalobah's England Career
Chalobah, meanwhile, has not played for England since featuring in a friendly against Senegal in June 2025, though he was named on the bench for several World Cup qualifiers under Tuchel.
Squad Replacement Rules
An injured player must be replaced by someone from the "provisional release list" of up to 55 players that was named prior to the tournament.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
