Manager Thomas Tuchel gives an update on the fitness status of England players. (Image: Getty)
England manager Thomas Tuchel revealed that Arsenal pair Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were “enthusiastic” to play against Japan but were unable to play due to fitness concerns. The duo were released from the Three Lions camp on Saturday, along with club colleague Noni Madueke, ahead of Tuesday’s international friendly. Several other players left the team in pre-planned moves for the game against Japan.
Rice and Saka were at Wembley on Friday night to watch their England colleagues draw 1-1 with Uruguay. Maduke was sent off midway through the first half with a knee problem after a violent collision with opposing defender Rodrigo Aguirre just outside the penalty area. He initially survived the blow to the head, but was then forced off the pitch. He was later seen leaving Wembley with his left leg tied to his knee.
Tuchel commented on the trio while addressing the media at Tottenham Hotspur’s training ground on Monday.
“As a coach, I have nothing to add. I’m not a medical expert,” he said.
“We were evaluated after the game and none of them could play and they didn’t get a chance to play, so we let them go.
“They had a medical diagnosis and desperately wanted to play to get the story right and desperately wanted to participate, but it just didn’t make sense to take this risk.
“Maybe if it was the last game of the season, we would have kept them and tried everything, but at this moment in the season it didn’t make sense.
“The risk of worsening the condition was clearly too great and both of them were feeling discomfort and were clearly in discomfort when medically assessed.
“So it didn’t make sense for them to stay. They’ll all be out for quite a few days, but not dramatically. The photo assessment was a little bit better than his feel, but he’ll be out for a few days.”
England face Japan in another international friendly on Tuesday night (Image: Getty)
Arsenal are concerned about the fitness of several key players after Martin Zvimendi and left-back Piero Hincapie decided to retire from international football at the end.
Zubimendi felt some discomfort in his knee, while Hincapie was substituted midway through Ecuador’s friendly match against Morocco following a stalemate.
Tuchel made it clear that he was not disappointed in any of his players, with John Stones and Adam Wharton also withdrawn due to their inability to play.
He added: “We’re disappointed but not disappointed in the players. We want everyone to be fit and healthy, but that’s the reality of the season and we have players playing in European games and multiple competitions in March.
“That’s the reality. We’ve given our players time to rest and we already have players in camp who played more minutes than last season.
“There are some red flags and some concerns. I think some players needed a mental break from football. You could see that in the energy they had when they came back to camp. But this is also the last camp before America.”
“I’m not upset or angry with the players, but I felt they were all desperate.
“Some of the injured players started treatment here, which shows that they are desperate to remain part of the group. It was more affected by everyone leaving than by being able to stay.”
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