Declan Rice has disclosed that he has been managing nerve pain in his hamstring since Christmas, reflecting on the 'obscene' number of matches he has played this season. The England midfielder was substituted in the 72nd minute of the 4-2 World Cup win against Croatia last Wednesday, with the problem relating to the upper hamstring and pain radiating into his lower back. Rice described his substitution as 'smart' and confirmed he would be fit for England's second group game against Ghana in Boston on Tuesday.
'I'm ready and fit, raring to go,' Rice told ITV Sport. '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. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.' He added that the last 20 minutes of matches are often where players pick up injuries, and that he has felt 'really, really good' in recent days.
Rice has played 63 matches this season, 55 for Arsenal and eight for England. His club reached the finals of the Champions League and Carabao Cup, losing to Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, and won the Premier League. 'It's an obscene amount of games,' Rice said. 'The schedule was crazy but what can we do about it? You can't sit and complain. We have to just get on with it for the moments like I had in the Premier League, winning that Premier League.'
England began a hot-weather acclimatisation camp in Florida in early June, with heat and humidity in North America posing major challenges. The Croatia game was played in Dallas's air-conditioned stadium at 22C, and similar conditions are forecast for Boston's open-air stadium. Rice said manager Thomas Tuchel has reassured players they have the conditioning to cope with hotter conditions.
Rice also discussed Bukayo Saka's achilles problem, noting that Saka has been managing the issue for some time and is not expected to start against Ghana. 'Bukayo will impact this tournament,' Rice said. 'I think we're managing him the right way, for sure.' William Saliba, another Arsenal player, admitted he has been playing through minor niggles for months, saying: 'The World Cup comes round only once every four years so you've got to grit your teeth.'
