Former England captain Stuart Pearce has warned Thomas Tuchel that selecting Declan Rice for Saturday's World Cup quarter-final against Norway would be 'foolish' if the midfielder is not fully fit. Rice has been managing a hamstring problem since Christmas and was seen with an icepack on his left hamstring after England's 2-1 win over DR Congo in the last 32.
Tuchel admits Rice played in 'terrible pain'
Tuchel revealed that Rice was playing with 'terrible pain' against DR Congo, yet the 27-year-old still managed 90 minutes in England's 3-2 victory over Mexico last Sunday. However, Pearce insists the manager must not take a gamble on the Arsenal star's fitness.
'The only thing that might be a consideration to him is the injury… a concern that's been with him for a few games,' Pearce told talkSPORT. Host Adrian Durham replied: 'He's not 100 per cent, let's put it that way.' Pearce added: 'Yeah, exactly, but you wouldn't think it with his performances. Is that going to do him more damage and is he likely to break down? If there is a risk there, I think you'd be foolish as a manager to play him.'
Rice isolated due to sickness bug
Rice is also a doubt for the Norway match after missing a second consecutive day of training on Thursday due to a sickness bug. The Arsenal midfielder has been isolated from his England teammates to prevent the illness from spreading across the squad.
After the DR Congo win, Tuchel said of Rice's injury: 'When Declan tells you that he is in terrible pain, then you know he cannot take it anymore, so he was grateful that we took him off. He just said after the game it's not an issue, he will recover, so there is no injury. He was just in pain so I hope he is right. It's more nerval pain.'
England face Norway in the quarter-final at 10pm BST on Saturday, with a place in the semi-finals at stake.
