Why Djed Spence is wearing a mask at World Cup as England star forced to have protective gear

Djed Spence will have facial protection when playing for England this summer at the World Cup.

The Tottenham Hotspur defender was named in the Three Lions’ 26-man squad as they bid to end a 60-year wait for global glory.

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Spence started in their first World Cup warm-up match against New Zealand on Saturday night, and played a key role in the 1-0 victory.

Harry Kane headed in the winner from the full-back’s delivery off the left as England made a strong start to their Florida camp.

Fans will have noticed that Spence was wearing a mask when playing at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa – and for very good reason.

Why is Spence wearing a mask?

Spence suffered a broken jaw when playing for Spurs last month in their 2-1 defeat at rivals Chelsea.

He attempted to win the ball in his own half but was clattered by the left arm of Blues striker Liam Delap.

Unsurprisingly, Spence went down clutching the left side of his face, but managed to play the rest of the Premier League fixture.

The 25-year-old returned to action in their final match of the season, a 1-0 win over Everton, and wore a mask throughout the 90 minutes.

Noe at the World Cup, Spence will still have to wear protective gear as he continues his recovery.

“It is a little bit uncomfortable, but it is what it is,” he said. “I have a broken jaw so I have to wear it throughout the tournament.

“It is something I will have to get used to. It will be three months until it is fully healed, so it is a long time.

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“It was painful, but luckily I play football with my feet and not my jaw so it is all good.

“I have been wearing it in training, getting used to wearing it in the heat, and trying to break it in properly.

“It was a crazy challenge, but it is in the past now. I’ve just got to focus on this tournament now.”

Broken jaw? No bother

Just three days after suffering his nasty injury, Spence was officially named in the England squad for the World Cup.

He had never played for the senior national team before the arrival of head coach Thomas Tuchel in January 2025.

Spence won his fifth England cap against New Zealand, and could be set to earn his sixth against Costa Rica on Wednesday.

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talkSPORT will have live commentary of their final friendly in Orlando before England’s focus switches to the World Cup.

Their campaign begins on June 17 against Croatia, who beat them in the 2018 semi-finals.