Thomas Tuchel reveals 'scary' concern for England ahead of World Cup after Japan defeat | OneFootball

Three Lions could see ambitions to end 60 years of hurt in North America this summer derailed

Thomas Tuchel admitted he is scared of receiving bad injury news over the next two months after fitness issues derailed England's last camp before the World Cup.

The Three Lions had hoped this would be an international window to showcase their strength in depth and further bed in key principles to leave them in strong shape for this summer's tournament.

Instead, England were held to a 1-1 draw by Uruguay last week and then lost 1-0 to Japan on Tuesday night, their final match before Tuchel names his World Cup squad.

The German's options were depleted at Wembley. Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Noni Madueke were among those to withdraw from the squad due to fitness concerns, while Harry Kane picked up a minor injury on the eve of the Japan game.

"It will be scary to watch TV on the weekends," Tuchel said. "From now on every muscle injury can mean a player misses out.

"Jordan Henderson is a key figure for us in camp. He's out. Declan Rice is out. Bukayo is out. They are captains for their clubs and they drive the standards.

"And then Harry Kane drops out. It's basically the leadership group who is not available. It affects of course a group."

It is hoped that none of those who missed the Japan match have particularly serious injuries, with England instead keen to manage the workload of the players who have already had hectic seasons.

Those knocks are not of particular concern to Tuchel for now, but even the most minor of injuries will start to give him sleepless nights in the weeks ahead.

"All these injuries I think will be still manageable in the window of time that we have, to be invested in club football in May and be ready for the World Cup," Tuchel said.

"But from now on, the next eight weeks I'm concerned of course. I hope that everything goes well for the players, that they stay healthy."