World Cup injury tracker: Declan Rice, Raphinha and Nico Williams updates

One of the big injury sagas of World Cup 2026 appears to have come to a happy ending after Neymar made his long-awaited return for Brazil in their final group game against Scotland.

Neymar, who had been out of action after suffering a calf injury just three weeks out from the tournament, came off the bench for a tearful cameo as the Selecao topped Group C, meaning the 34-year-old could be set to play a greater role in Brazil’s knockouts campaign.

However, many nations are still sweating over major injury concerns to top players. England have been without Reece James for their last two matches while Declan Rice’s fitness continues to be assessed after he was came off citing back pain against DR Congo.

Spain have also been dealt a double injury blow after wingers Nico Williams and Yeremy Pino suffered setbacks during their third group outing against Uruguay.

See below for a full list of key injuries at this year’s World Cup.

James has been out of action for England for their last two World Cup outings, missing their group finale against Panama before watching on as his side only just avoided humiliation in the last-32 at the hands of DR Congo.

The Chelsea defender’s absence has been notable with England’s right side considerably more vulnerable amid a growing injury crisis in the position.

Manager Thomas Tuchel is optimistic that he will be “available very soon” but he was missing from England’s first training session following the win over Congo.

Rice has been managing nerve back pain all tournament and was rested during England’s group finale against Panama before returning to Tuchel’s side for the nervy knockouts win over DR Congo.

However, he was withdrawn in the second half of that and Tuchel, while insisting it’s not an injury, has relayed that the midfielder was in discomfort.

The Crystal Palace winger suffered a collarbone injury against Uruguay and there were fears he could miss the rest of the tournament.

Those were allayed when Spain said X-rays showed Pino had not sustained a fractured collar bone but an acromioclavicular sprain.

It meant he was able to return to the squad for Spain’s round of 32 win over Austria but did not feature off the bench.

The injuries are suddenly piling up for La Roja after Williams suffered a groin problem in the win over Uruguay.

“Today is one of the worst days of my life,” Williams posted on social media. “I am injured again after a very difficult year. Yesterday, I suffered a new injury following an incident where a fellow professional acted out of frustration, unhappiness, and sadness over the situation he was going through. In my opinion, it was a play that could have been avoided, as it was completely unnecessary. But this won’t stop me.”

Like Pino, he was able to return to the bench against Austria but did not feature off it.

Raphinha suffered a hamstring injury during Brazil’s 3-0 win over Haiti and has been absence since, missing their narrow round of 32 win over Japan.

He limped off at the end of the first half of the contest in Philadelphia and was seen walking gingerly out of the stadium after the game’s conclusion.

The Barcelona star has undergone treatment on a hamstring injury with the hope of him returning to the World Cup.

And efforts towards that return have stepped up after he returned to training ahead of Brazil’s last-16 clash with Norway.

“I always demand a lot from myself and work every day to improve – that will never change,” Raphinha posted on social media.

“I will do everything within my power to recover and return as soon as possible. I want to be alongside my teammates, fight for our goals and keep giving everything I have to honour this shirt and bring joy to the Brazilian fans. I’m staying strong.”

England’s injury crisis at right-back has been mounting after Quansah was forced off against Panama with injury.

The Bayer Leverkusen defender, operating out wide instead of in the centre, will be out for the last-32 with Tuchel saying: “A classic ankle twist and he is in pain. He said he had it before and it is a matter of days. He has his leg up high and in ice.

“Naturally of course [I am worried about the right-back situation] – we have another injury in the position.

“It will be a tight race for Reece James and a tight race for Jarell Quansah but it is our job to find solutions and we will do.”

He missed the knockout match against DR Congo. Like with James, he is said to be getting “closer and closer” to a return but was absent from their first training session post-Atlanta.

Canada’s captain has sat out the entire group stage for the host nation due to a hamstring problem, but has finally made his return to action in their dramatic round of 32 win over South Africa, albeit off the bench.

While he was able to return to the bench in Canada’s romping of Qatar, he did not make a cameo and was then once again completely absent from the squad for their third match against Switzerland, sparking concerns that he would not feature at all for his country’s home World Cup.

However, Jesse Marsch insisted he would be “ready for the next match” and while he was not deemed fit enough to start, the Bayern Munich star did manage to feature against Bafana Bafana.

He will now hope to start for Canada in the last-16 clash against Morocco.

Trusty was withdrawn during the USA’s group-stage defeat to Turkey after rolling his ankle “pretty bad”.

He eased fears of a serious injury by not needing a stretcher but the Celtic defender nevertheless missed their first knockout match, a win against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“I don’t know. I can’t really react to it,” he told Fox after full-time. “Honestly, I am in my head right now, I rolled my ankle a pretty bad.”

New Liverpool signing Munoz has been absent for the entirety of the World Cup so far after sustaining a calf injury in the build-up to the tournament. He then suffered a further setback when he was diagnosed with another muscular injury.

He is back on the pitch but is currently training alone.

Paqueta was forced off at half-time against Japan after picking up a muscle problem, making him a doubt for the last-16.

The CBF ​did not provide a timetable for ​Paqueta’s recovery, saying: “Paqueta underwent scans on ​Tuesday that confirmed a muscle ​injury to the back of his left ‌thigh.

“The player will undergo an intensive treatment programme under the supervision of the ​national ​team’s medical ⁠staff, with the aim of recovering and returning to ​action as soon as ​possible.”

England were dealt their first real injury blow of the campaign before a ball was kicked after Newcastle defender Livramento was ruled out for the tournament with a calf injury.

Tuchel could have called up a raft of other full-back options, including Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly and Newcastle’s Lewis Hall. However the England manager chose to bring Trevoh Chalobah, a centre-back, into the fold.

Livramento has since undergone surgery to deal with the issue.

Canada midfielder Ismael Kone has undergone successful surgery to repair severe fractures in his lower left leg, after sustaining a horror injury during their group-stage match against Qatar.

The injury, which involved both the tibia and fibula bones, means the 24-year-old will miss the remainder of the Fifa World Cup 2026 campaign.

Canada coach Jesse Marsch described the immediate aftermath, recalling he “could hear the bone snap.”

Another confirmed absentee, Tottenham forward Kudus will miss the World Cup because of a quadricep injury.

The 25-year-old has not featured since January, in a blow to Ghana – who are in England’s group.

West Ham midfielder was stretchered off after sustaining a severe ankle injury when colliding with Mexico’s veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.

Czech Republic’s defeat to the host nation confirmed their World Cup elimination meaning the injury will not have an impact on his involvement future games at the tournaments, though it could rule him out for the beginning of the normal season.

Manuel Ugarte was carried off on a stretcher as his Uruguay team were knocked out of the World Cup, with the injured midfielder leaving the field in tears.

Ugarte, who represents Manchester United at club level, collided with teammate Mathias Olivera while the pair chased Spain’s Pedri, and he appeared to catch his studs in the turf and injure his knee.

The central defender missed the remainder of the tournament and faces several months on the sidelines due to an ankle ligament injury. The setback was confirmed by the national team on 22 June, two days after their 2-1 Group E victory over Ivory Coast.

Schlotterbeck, a key figure in the German defence, sustained the injury early in the match and was substituted at half-time for Antonio Rüdiger. A subsequent scan revealed the Borussia Dortmund player had torn a ligament in his left ankle, specifically the medial collateral ligament.

Liverpool defensive midfielder Endo injured his foot in February and has been ruled out of the World Cup – and the 33-year-old has immediately retired from international duty.

“Since my injury, I’ve done everything I possibly could up to this point, so I have no regrets whatsoever,” he said. “From here on, I’ll be cheering for the Japan national team as one of the fans.”

The Arsenal defender had been out since March due to a groin problem, but came on in the second half of the Champions League final against PSG.

However, the Dutch FA believe Timber had “not recovered sufficiently” to take part in the tournament in a “medically responsible manner.”

As such, Timber has left the Dutch squad and been ruled out of the World Cup.

The 18-year-old was expected to be one of the young stars of this tournament but suffered a torn thigh muscle in training, ruling him out of the World Cup.