Tuchel defends Arsenal stars Rice and Saka decision to return to club after injuries 

There is drama already in the England camp, and the World Cup is still a couple months away. There has been an exodus of players that have returned to their clubs after picking up injuries, including a few Arsenal players, but England coach Thomas Tuchel has downplayed the “optics.”

Arsenal get stars back

Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were among 11 players that were left off the squad list for England’s first of two matches during this international break. Harry Kane and Anthony Gordon were a couple of other big names that missed the match against Uruguay, but on Saturday Rice and Saka both returned to their club before the friendly against Japan for “medical assessment.”

Arsenal are in the midst of a title chase, and there are many who are wondering if there is something more profound behind the early exits of the two Gunners. It has been 22 years since Arsenal have won the league, and they are in prime position, but a Carabao Cup final loss right before the break may have been a cause for concern at the Emirates with the most important part of the season coming up.

“I understand the looks of it,” Tuchel said when asked about the two Arsenal stars. “I still have 100% trust in the honesty of Declan and Bukayo. We did medical tests. I saw them. I have no reason to believe that either are not honest with me. But given the amount of Arsenal players, I understand the look. They wanted desperately to be involved – just to get the narrative straight. But they were both clearly in discomfort.”

Risk not worth reward for Tuchel

Rice and Saka weren’t the only ones who returned to their club over the weekend. Their teammate Noni Madueke suffered a knock against Uruguay as did Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton. Manchester City’s John Stones also returned to his club, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Fikayo Tomin and Aaron Ramsdale left the England concentration to return for their clubs for the final stretch of the season.

Arsenal are nine points clear of Manchester City with one more match played than the Citizens. There is still a massive head-to-head match up between the top two teams in the league from the Etihad on the 19th of April. The Gunners are also still alive in the Champions League and the FA Cup, but they will have to shake off what was a physically and emotionally difficult loss in the Carabao Cup, and Tuchel acknowledged the physical ails Rice and Saka carried into camp over the last week.

“We knew after the [Carabao Cup] final that there are issues. They were in treatment. But they both came. Declan was even out on the pitch. He did not come and say: ‘Guys, I’m going home.’ I heard there were camps where players did not even show up with boots. Bukayo did sessions in the gym to really try. Declan had a session on the pitch with Jude [Bellingham, who is also not fully fit] and said it doesn’t feel right. Why would I take any risks? They wanted desperately to be involved – just to get the narrative straight. But they were both clearly in discomfort,” assured the former PSG manager.

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