England manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed that Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are desperate to play the International friendly against Japan, but the risk is too high because of injury trouble. England recently played a 1-1 draw against Uruguay as Tuchel made a handful of changes to the playing XI, giving maiden caps to James Trafford and James Garner.
Meanwhile, Saka and Rice were among eight players, including Arsenal teammate Noni Madueke, who were omitted from the squad on Saturday.
The Arsenal duo will once again be missing from the playing XI against Japan.
“They [Saka and Rice] wanted desperately to play, to get the narrative straight, but it made no sense to make the risk,” Tuchel told a news conference.
“If it was the last game of the season we would have kept them, but in this moment of the season it did not make sense.
“The risk for making it was way too big. They were both clearly in discomfort when we did the medical assessment. It made absolutely no sense that they stayed.”
Meanwhile, Madueke, John Stones and Adam Wharton have also left the camp due to injury woes and the German manager admitted that the hectic scheduling of the season is not easy for the players.
“Not disappointed with the players, disappointed with the fact,” Tuchel said.
“It’s the reality of the season, the reality of the end of March, reality of players involved in more than one competition.
“We have players in camp that have already played more minutes than last season, so there is some concern. The players deserve the mental break from football, and we could see the energy with which they came back to camp in a new environment.
“It helps them go back to clubs and perform. We want them to perform in their clubs, but it is also our last camp before America, so we want to reconnect to our principles. I’m not upset or angry with the players.
“I got the feeling that everyone was desperate to come. Some of the injured players even stayed to do their treatment, that shows they want to be around the group. No one left straight away, it’s a good spirit and that’s how it should be.”
England will take on Japan on Tuesday.
