England manager Thomas Tuchel faces a nervous wait over the fitness of Declan Rice after the Arsenal midfielder limped off during the World Cup clash with Croatia.
Rice, 27, was substituted in the second half with Tuchel bringing on Morgan Rogers as his replacement in the middle of the park.
ITV commentator Sam Matterface noted that Rice was seen “limping” as he made his way off the pitch, sending alarm bells ringing for England supporters.
Speaking after the match, Tuchel admitted the substitution was precautionary, saying: “I hope they are OK because normally I would never take Declan out, but I didn’t want to take any risk.”
The exact nature of the injury remains unclear, though concerns over Rice’s fitness are not entirely new heading into this tournament.
Back in March, during England’s final international break before the World Cup, Tuchel revealed that Rice had been managing a physical issue throughout the Premier League campaign.
Tuchel said at that time: “He feels a discomfort since quite a while, and he’s playing through it. He is just now on the edge, where he thinks, ‘Does this make sense, what I’m doing here, to push through with 70 per cent [fitness] and push myself and push myself?’ And the same with Bukayo.”
Rice had only just arrived at the World Cup camp a week later than the main group, alongside Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke, to allow recovery time after Arsenal’s Champions League final run.
Last season, Rice made 55 appearances during Arsenal’s gruelling campaign, missing just two Premier League matches and featuring in all but two games in their run to the Champions League final.
The stakes could not be higher, as Rice has been named England’s vice-captain for the entire World Cup campaign alongside skipper Harry Kane.
Tuchel outlined just how integral Rice is to his system, saying: “Declan is our second captain. He has the highest football IQ, he takes care about formation, he takes care about our structure, he takes care about the adaptation, he takes care about the rhythm in our game.”
Following Rice’s substitution, Reece James was shifted into central midfield, suggesting that could be Tuchel’s contingency plan should Rice miss any matches during the competition.
Despite the injury scare, England produced an impressive performance overall, with Kane scoring a first-half brace and Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford adding second-half goals to seal a 4-2 win over Croatia.
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