Thomas Tuchel has revealed that England are continuing to manage Bukayo Saka's minutes ahead of the final World Cup warm-up friendly against Costa Rica. The winger missed the 1-0 victory over New Zealand at the weekend after joining the squad late, having featured for Arsenal in the Champions League final on May 30.
Saka's injury history
Prior to that, Saka was forced to withdraw from the squad during the March international break due to injury. He then missed six consecutive matches in all competitions for Arsenal, returning for the Champions League semi-final first leg against Atletico Madrid. Saka subsequently started four of the remaining five games of the campaign.
Tuchel's cautious approach
Saka is in contention to feature for the Three Lions against Costa Rica on Wednesday night, though Tuchel insists he still needs to be careful with the forward. "We have to take care with Bukayo who had an injury in the March camp and carried it through to the club campaign," the England head coach said in the pre-match press conference on Tuesday evening. "He made himself available and was brilliant. He was managed in between matches – we are also building him up. That continues at the moment."
Other Arsenal players fully fit
Tuchel also revealed that fellow Arsenal contingent Eberechi Eze, Declan Rice, and Noni Madueke are all "100 percent" fit and eager to play for the first time since the Champions League final loss to Paris Saint-Germain. He added: "No-one needs a break. Everyone is available which is very good news. No [injury] complaints after the first match."
Preparations for the World Cup
Tuchel provided further details on the team's preparations: "[We've had] one day of recovery and two good training sessions. We are ready to give it a push tomorrow; meaning more than 45 minutes. Players will play 60, maybe 70 minutes. We will make this decision in the afternoon. Then, we have a chance to load the players a day later in a match behind closed doors in our training facility, then pre-camp is finished. We then start our adventure two days later in Kansas. Tomorrow, we expect a physical push. Physically, [with] intensity and style and play. We want to take the next step and we feel ready for it."
