Thomas Tuchel has ‘100% trust’ in Rice and Saka over England injury absences

<ul><li><p>Arsenal duo unavailable for Japan game on Tuesday</p></li><li><p>‘We did medical tests. I saw them,’ head coach says</p></li></ul><p>Thomas Tuchel has plotted a diplomatic course through the storm that has followed the withdrawals of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/mar/28/england-squad-hit-by-more-dropouts-as-stones-and-arsenal-trio-pull-out-of-japan-game">Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka</a> from the England squad, saying the optics may look bad but he has “100% trust” in their integrity.</p><p>The England head coach gave Rice and Saka last week off, letting them rest rather than play in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/mar/27/england-uruguay-international-friendly-match-report">1-1 draw against Uruguay</a> at Wembley on Friday – along with nine others. His idea was to have all 11 back for the game against Japan on Tuesday, also at Wembley, for which he would release a group of players.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/mar/30/thomas-tuchel-declan-rice-bukayo-saka-england-uruguay-japan-wembley">Continue reading...</a>