Djed Spence is playing through a broken jaw and has been wearing a protective brace for England as he adapts to the injury in the heat of World Cup preparations. The 25-year-old said he will need to keep the brace on throughout the tournament after the challenge that left him hurt in the closing stages of Tottenham's penultimate Premier League game of the season.
The timing is why his situation has become a live issue for England now. He wore the brace in Tampa on Saturday against New Zealand, then helped create Harry Kane's goal with a cross as England opened their warm-up schedule, and he is set to stay in the squad for the final tune-up against Costa Rica in Orlando before the opening group match against Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday.
Spence broke his jaw after a challenge from Liam Delap and described it as crazy. He picked himself up and carried on to the end of Tottenham's 2-1 defeat, then had to manage the injury again when Spurs beat Everton 1-0 to stay up. That made the brace part of the story even before England flew to the United States, because he is not just returning to training — he is doing it while trying to play at full speed with a broken jaw that he says will take three months to heal.
The injury has also sharpened England's debate at left-back. Spence is naturally a right-back, but he has been used on the left for the past two seasons and said he might be out there on the right in this tournament, too. Thomas Tuchel has picked him in every squad he has named this season, a sign that the England staff value his versatility, even if the brace makes every session and every match a little uncomfortable.
Spence put it plainly when asked about the mask: it is uncomfortable, but that is the reality now. The unanswered question is whether he will start the matches that matter most, because England now have a defender who is fit enough to travel, sharp enough to set up goals and tough enough to keep going — but still carrying the kind of injury that can change a tournament with one bad contact.
