Declan Rice said he is ready for England's game against Ghana in Boston on Tuesday after managing nerve pain in a hamstring since Christmas. He said the issue flared enough to force him off in the 72nd minute of the 4-2 World Cup win against Croatia, but he expects to be fit again.
Rice and Ghana in Boston
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go,” Rice said in an interview with ITV Sport. He added, “I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time.”
The problem sits in the upper hamstring and radiates into his lower back. Rice said his substitution against Croatia was smart, and that judgment now points to the same calculation England are making before Tuesday’s 4pm local kick-off in Boston, where the match is scheduled for 9pm BST.
Arsenal and England workload
Rice's fitness check comes after a heavy season load. He said he has played 63 matches, split between 55 for Arsenal and eight for England, and called it “an obscene amount of games.”
That workload has also been shaped by a long club campaign. Arsenal won the Premier League and reached the finals of the Champions League and Carabao Cup, losing against Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.
England's wider camp has been built around the same kind of physical demand. Rice said the squad began a hot-weather acclimatisation camp in Florida at the start of June, and that Thomas Tuchel had been clear the group has the strength and power to outrun and outplay teams.
Bukayo Saka and the next call
Bukayo Saka only came on as a 72nd-minute substitute against Croatia and followed an individual training programme on Saturday, so England still have a separate wing decision to make. Rice said, “Bukayo will impact this tournament,” while Noni Madueke is likely to continue on the right wing.
For England, Rice's return to full fitness is the immediate gain. The unresolved part is not whether he wants the Ghana match, but whether Thomas Tuchel uses him from the start or keeps the load in check after a season Rice himself has described as too big.
