Thomas Tuchel has admitted that Declan Rice was in pain during England’s win over D.R. Congo, but he’s not injured and should be fit for the next game.
Declan Rice’s fitness has been a major talking point throughout England’s World Cup campaign so far, with the Arsenal midfielder clearly carrying something and having to miss the group stage match against Panama.
Even in the games he’s played, Rice has been substituted early against Croatia and D.R. Congo, suggesting he’s not fit enough to complete matches.
Reflecting on the D.R. Congo substitution, England boss Thomas Tuchel revealed that it happened because Rice told him he was in pain. Yet the manager still thinks the midfielder will be fine for the next game.
“I asked him,” Tuchel recalled. “He (Rice) said: ‘I can do it for the team but I am in terrible pain’, and when Declan tells you he is in terrible pain then you know he cannot take it anymore.
“He was grateful we took him off but he said after the game it is not an issue.
“There is no injury. I think he will recover. He was just in pain and I hope he is right. It’s more neural pain.”
England face Mexico in the last-16 of the World Cup this weekend, or in the early hours of Monday morning back in the UK.
Non-English Arsenal fans will probably be hoping for a swift elimination, allowing Rice to rest up ahead of next season. But the feelings are more complicated for English Arsenal fans, who know how important the player is to his national team.
As a reminder, if England get past the quarter-final stage, all four of Arsenal’s England stars will be staying at the tournament until the final weekend. Even if a team is eliminated in the semi-finals, they still have to stick around for the third-place match.
So Arsenal fans of any nationality will be keeping an eye on England’s upcoming game against Mexico, and a potential subsequent quarter-final against Brazil or Norway.
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