Declan Rice allays injury fears as England star issues World Cup latest | OneFootball

Arsenal midfielder was forced to sit out final group match in major worry for Thomas Tuchel

Declan Rice has given his most detailed assessment yet of his World Cup fitness status and the measures he took to manage neural pain during Arsenal’s Premier League title-winning campaign.

The midfielder recently revealed he had been dealing with “neural pain” since December and had to manage it in the second half of the season.

The 27-year-old sat out of England’s 2-0 win over Panama on Saturday as he was given a rest. This was partly due to a kick to his calf in the Ghana game that led to swelling and partly because he was on a booking and at risk of suspension for England’s possible round of 32 match.

Back: Declan Rice

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Asked on the eve of the game how he is feeling physically, Rice said: “I'm good. Genuinely, I'm good.

Rice was relaxed about missing the game against Panama which saw England qualify for the knockout stages top of Group L.

Called upon: Morgan Rogers

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“It is the World Cup, and missing out the other day [isn’t a problem]. We have a squad of 26 who are unbelievable and can play. Kobbie [Mainoo] can play, Jordan [Henderson] can play. Morgan [Rogers] came in and Jude [Bellingham] played as the No8.

“If it means that sometimes I have to miss out because we have other players who can play against a certain opposition, I'm fine with that, as long as we keep going and winning matches.

“I obviously want to play every match, but for the good of the team. The other day — with the calf [issue and] with me being on a yellow, as if I got another one, I would have missed the next game — I don't mind missing out the odd game just for other players to play.”

Rice continued: “I’m not one of them who is going to sit and cry about it. I’m really supportive and want everyone to do well.”

Asked what dealing with the neural pain for six months has been like, Rice replied: “Strange, because you can just feel it like sitting there.

“It is not just a pain that happens [just] during football. You could be sat at home and you'd feel a little pain shoot up your leg. It's just something that is obviously a bit unusual for me because I've never had anything before, touch wood.

He said of the recent flare up: “It was a bit of a shock to the system just because I played the Champions League final, had a week completely off-feet where I did nothing, and then just got myself back into a rhythm again. I think the body had a little bit of a shock.

“I think that's why I started to feel the pain a little bit because towards the end [of the season] it was starting to ease off. I think it's just something I've got to keep managing. Once this season's done, I'll get my rest and I'm sure next season I'll go into it fine.”