World Cup injury tracker: Neymar, Mohamed Salah and Reece James 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 are set to be without Reece James for the next two matches while Declan Rice’s fitness continues to be assessed ahead of their group-stage finale against Panama.

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, while Mohamed Salah’s hopes of a knockout match with Egypt are in the balance after picking up a knee problem.

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

After missing Brazil’s first two World Cup matches with a calf problem, Neymar seems to have won his race against time to be fit after making an appearance off the bench against Scotland.

It remains to be seen if he will be deemed fit enough to start any Brazil’s knockout games – or whether Carlo Ancelotti will opt for the 34-year-old ahead of some of their younger talent.

England have suffered an injury blow with James ruled out of their clash with Panama because of a hamstring problem.

The right-back is also a doubt for their last-32 tie as he faces a race against time to be available for England’s first knockout match.

Manager Thomas Tuchel said: “Reece has a minor hamstring issue. He was not able to train in the last two days. He is now in an accelerated rehabilitation programme and we take it game by game. But there is some belief that he will be available for us [again] in the tournament.

“We have hopes that he will be fit for the next match. It can be a tight one. But the hopes are still alive.”

Rice was removed on 72 minutes during England’s opening 4-2 win over Croatia after complaining of discomfort in his lower back and hamstring. As such, he was a doubt to start against Ghana, but he played the full 90 plus added time anyway as his side drew 0-0. Then, after the game, he was seen appearing to limp through the mixed zone while sporting bandaging on his calf.

Will he be fit for England’s final group-stage game, against Panama on Saturday? That now remains to be seen as England assess his fitness, with the Three Lions still chasing a top-spot finish in Group L.

The legendary former Liverpool winger’s hopes of playing in his first World Cup knockout match are in the balance after the Egypt captain suffered a knee injury during his side’s 1-1 draw with Iran.

Salah was surprisingly taken off on 57 minutes and he was seen with ice wrapped around his leg as he watched on from the bench. The early prognosis seems to be positive though, with manager Hossam Hassan hopeful that it isn’t a major setback.

“I talked to Salah and he said he’s going to be OK and it’s not a big injury,” Hassan said. “We still have time to talk to the medical staff. I think he will be back, and when I spoke to Salah he assured me he’s going to be OK.”

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

Spain are awaiting results from the scan but the early outlook is concerning.

“Pino can miss the rest of the World Cup,” Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente said after the match. “It is a collarbone injury. We will do more scans tomorrow. He was suffering a lot, it was heroic that he helped us until the end of the game.”

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

His availability for the knockouts is in doubt and, like Pino, he may be ruled out for the tournament.

Pulisic is back in contention for the United States after missing the majority of their group stage campaign through injury.

The co-hosts’ star player shone in the first-half of USA’s 4-1 win against Paraguay in Los Angeles but was withdrawn by Mauricio Pochettino at half-time due to a calf problem.

The US remained without Pulisic for their win over Australia, which sealed their place in the knockout stages.

“It was impossible for him today to play,” Pochettino said. “We hope that next game he will be available but if we want to win the competition we need the whole team.”

And after insisting he felt “great” ahead of their final group outing against Turkey, Pulisic did manage to make a second-half cameo off the bench as they lost 3-2.

“I felt healthy, I felt good, so it was really nice to be back with the team and get some minutes,” Pulisic told Fox, with all eyes now on the knockouts to see if he will be fit enough to start in the round of 32.

Saka has been managing a long-term Achilles problem and is yet to start a game at this World Cup, though has made cameos off the bench in both of England’s opening two group games against Croatia and Ghana.

“Bukayo is ready and will get more and more ready,” Tuchel said after the win over Croatia. “Once we get to the last game in the group it is the moment. He was strong yesterday [Tuesday] in training in small spaces. It’s just a matter of if the game is open and up and down.”

Tuchel has since said Saka is free of pain and could start for the Three Lions in their final group outing against Panama.

Raphinha suffered a hamstring injury during Brazil’s 3-0 win over Haiti and missed their group finale against Scotland.

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, the country’s national team said Saturday.

Raphinha is set to go through an intensive treatment protocol with the aim of resuming normal activities in a short period of time, the confederation said.

Scotland are sweating over the fitness of captain Andy Robertson as they await the conclusion of the group stage to determine if they have done enough to qualify for the knockout rounds of the World Cup.

He played the entirety of the first half of the defeat to Brazil but was replaced during the break with manager Steve Clarke bringing on Kieran Tierney instead. Robertson was later pictured in Scotland’s dugout with an ice pack on his right ankle as he witnessed his team slump to a heavier defeat then they would have liked.

After the game, Robertson gave a short update on his injury, and sounded slightly glum when saying: “Personally, time will tell. I need to take a day or two to see what has actually happened, and I’ll do that.”

The central defender will miss 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.

Argentina centre-back Romero was forced off during Argentina’s win over Austria after picking up a knee problem, giving cause for concern regarding his future involvement this World Cup.

The Spurs man saw his foot stamped on by Marcel Sabitzer but began holding his knee, which was not subject to any contact.

Canada’s captain has sat out the entire group stage for the host nation due to a hamstring problem.

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.

“Alphonso wasn’t ready yet, so I was using him a little bit as a decoy,” manager Jesse Marsch said after the game. “He will be ready for the next match.”

Despite his absence, Canada have successfully navigated the group and will play in the World Cup knockout stages for the first time.

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 may struggle to make fitness for the co-hosts’ first knockout match.

“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.

“I felt like we had a lot of opportunities during the game. I think they had like three shots and three goals. So it was just an unfortunate loss, but gotta keep going.

“How am I feeling? I’ll be all right. Honestly, I don’t know. I heard a little something, but I’ll be fine. No worries.”

Hickey trained alone at Scotland’s final session in Miami ahead of the World Cup clash with Brazil.

The right-back was a doubt for the Group C clash as he deals with load management issues but did manage to make the bench for the 3-0 defeat.

Hickey came off in the 1-0 Group C win over Haiti and was absent for the 1-0 defeat by Morocco on Friday at the Boston Stadium.

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 Ivory Coast right-back was substituted during the second half against Germany, with Guela Doue coming on in his place after 82 minutes.

Singo was seen clutching his left hamstring and sat on the bench in tears, covering his face with his orange Elephants jersey.

He returned to the bench for Ivory Coast’s win over Curacao so could feature in the knockouts.

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.

Australia veteran winger Leckie has been sent home after suffering a hamstring injury, meaning he will miss the Socceroos’ knockout clash with Egypt.

Another Aussie who’s been sent packing before the knockouts, Italiano has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament after picking up an adductor injury in training.

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.

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.

It was heartbreak for Scotland’s creative midfielder Gilmour, as he suffered an injury in their warm-up victory against Curacao.

The 24-year-old Napoli player picked up a knee injury in the 4-1 win, with teammate Scott McTominay saying he was “absolutely devastated” by the news.

Gilmour was, however, in camp to support his teammates ahead of their opening win against Haiti on Saturday.