Guehi’s Hamstring Leaves England Sweating Ahead of Norway Quarterfinal

England boss Thomas Tuchel faces a nervous wait over Marc Guehi’s fitness after the centre-back picked up a hamstring strain in the round-of-16 win over Mexico. The Manchester City defender is desperate to play in Saturday’s World Cup quarterfinal against Norway but will be assessed on Friday. What was initially thought to be muscular fatigue has now been confirmed as a hamstring strain, and if Guehi cannot train with the squad on Friday, his chances of facing Erling Haaland and co. will be in serious doubt. The issue isn’t considered serious, but with Haaland – who has seven goals in the tournament – looming, Tuchel can’t afford to gamble on a defender who isn’t fully fit. In brighter news, Reece James returned to full training on Thursday for the first time since his own hamstring injury against Ghana. The Chelsea right-back didn’t complete the entire session but is expected to be available against Norway if he suffers no reaction. His return is a huge boost given the problems England have had at right-back: Jarell Quansah is suspended for two games after his red card against Mexico, Tino Livramento injured his calf before the tournament, and Djed Spence was the only natural right-back left standing. Declan Rice, meanwhile, missed a second straight day of training due to a sickness bug that has aggravated a pre-existing neural issue affecting his hamstring and lower back. England have taken precautions to prevent the bug from spreading through the squad. With Guehi a doubt, Tuchel can call on John Stones, Dan Burn, or Trevoh Chalobah at centre-back.