Declan Rice Injury Update: Tuchel Confirms Midfielder Ready for Ghana

Thomas Tuchel moved quickly to calm England nerves after Declan Rice was withdrawn during the 4-2 win over Croatia, insisting his midfield linchpin will be ready for the next World Cup group game against Ghana.

Rice, who had driven England through an open, chaotic contest in their 2026 World Cup opener, was taken off in the second half after Tuchel spotted something he did not like.

“Declan had some unusual ball losses and I saw a bit of discomfort,” the England head coach explained. When he checked with his captain, the answer was immediate. “I asked him, and he pointed directly to his lower back, upper hamstring, that he feels the discomfort.”

Tuchel did not hesitate. A game that had already swung England’s way was not the stage to gamble on the fitness of the side’s on‑field anchor.

“I didn’t want to take any risk, so I decided to take Declan off, which I never wanted to do,” Tuchel said. “But it was the moment to protect him, and I think Reece James did so well to replace him in the central midfield.”

The decision underlined just how central Rice has become to this England project. He had, in Tuchel’s words, “a fantastic game”, knitting together defence and attack as England hit four in their first outing of the tournament.

Tuchel’s message afterwards was clear: concern, yes; panic, no.

“[Rice] had a fantastic game, so I hope it’s nothing more, and he just reassured me at the end that it’s good and he knows the discomfort. We will take care of it, and this is nothing big to worry about.”

Rice himself sounded even more relaxed as he walked through the mixed zone, brushing off any suggestion of a major problem.

“All good, good as gold,” he said, describing the issue as a familiar one rather than a fresh injury. “Just what I’ve been nursing, probably, in the second half of the season at Arsenal, little neural pains here and there.

“But yeah, I’m all good, I’m all fine, just precaution and I’ll be back out there again against Ghana.”

England have their statement win on the board. Now they expect their midfield general to be there when the stakes rise again.