World Cup injury tracker: Kylian Mbappe latest, Jordan Henderson freak arm break and more

The 2026 World Cup is down to its last eight, meaning teams will be praying not to suffer any untimely injury setbacks in their quest for global glory.

Some of the big injury sagas heading into the tournament have come to happy endings, with Lamine Yamal now a regular fixture for Spain after returning to full fitness, while injury-ridden Neymar was able to get some minutes in what will be his final World Cup, before Brazil’s elimination at the hands of Norway.

However, many nations are still sweating over major concerns to top players. England have been dealing with a defensive injury crisis for much of the tournament and while that appeared to easing with Reece James closing in on a return, Declan Rice‘s fitness is now up in the air after being struck down with illness before the quarter-final clash with Norway.

France will be sweating over the fitness of Kylian Mbappe after he was brought off with a knock against Morocco. Spain, meanwhile, have seen their winger options limited since the end of the group stage, with Yeremy Pino and Victor Munoz still out. And in a potential concern for Newcastle fans hoping to see one of their top targets in action, Switzerland will be without star man Johan Manzambi for their last-eight tie with Argentina.

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

Mbappe was substituted as a precaution after picking up a knock in France’s 2-0 World Cup quarter-final win over Morocco on Thursday.

Morocco defender Issa Diop sliced through the France forward shortly after giving his side the lead, receiving a yellow card as Mbappe reacted in pain.

France boss Didier Deschamps was taking no chances as Les Bleus went 2-0 up through Ousmane Dembele, with Mbappe making way for Jean-Philippe Mateta in the 78th minute.

Mbappe had ice strapped to his ankle on the substitutes bench but did not look overly concerned, with five days until France’s semi-final against Spain or Belgium.

Mbappe played down the injury afterwards, saying: “I have a minor ankle injury, but I’m completely fine.

“Mateta was in a better position to play the remaining minutes of the match and was fitter at that moment. That’s all that happened.”

James has been out of action for England for their last three World Cup outings, once again unable to feature in their stunning round of 16 win over Mexico as he recovers from a hamstring problem.

His absence has been compounded by injuries to right-back alternatives in the England squad though he was finally able to return to fitness against Norway in the quarter-finals, coming off the bench.

Rice’s tournament has been hampered by injuries with neural back pain forcing England to manage his workload. This saw him miss England’s group-stage finale against Panama, but he has started both knockout games since.

He was then struck down by illness ahead of the quarter-final with Norway, and despite recovering enough to make the starting line-up after missing two days of training, he looked out of sorts and was replaced at half-time.

Norway were also dealing with illness in the squad but their team doctor has since confirmed that all players are now fit and well.

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.

However, he is yet to play any minutes for Spain since the group-stage injury.

Brentford midfielder Henderson was thought to be ruled out for the World Cup after sustaining a freak injury in the aftermath of England’s win over Mexico – but that may not be the case.

Henderson leaped over the advertising hoarding but fell awkwardly and snapped his arm. He underwent surgery before returning to England’s Kansas City base, opting to remain with the squad until the end of the campaign rather than go home.

However, in a stunning development, Henderson was included among the substitutes to face Norway in the last-eight and says he will “cross the bridge” of potentially featuring in the semi-finals “when we come to it”.

Argentina are dealing with another defensive injury blow after Medina hobbled off with a calf problem in their last-32 clash win over Cape Verde.

That match saw the return of Cristian Romero after the Tottenham centre-back suffered a knee injury in the group stage, but Lionel Scaloni has another headache to deal with after Medina’s withdrawal, with the defender then missing their controversial last-16 victory with Egypt. He was once again absent for their quarter-final win over Switzerland.

France have been without midfielder Tchouameni for their last two outings against Paraguay and Morocco due to a lingering groin problem.

He was said to be improving after undergoing an individual recovery programme but it remains to be seen whether he will be fit to face Spain in their semi-final.

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.