Declan Rice has insisted he only went off as a precaution in England’s 4-2 win over Croatia in their opening World Cup 2026 group game.
Arsenal and England fans will no doubt have been concerned to see the midfielder appearing to limp off when he was subbed by Thomas Tuchel with 20 minutes to go.
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World Cup news has only really been positive for England so far, with the team avoiding injuries to key players and gelling really well in an impressive victory against a tough opponent in Croatia last night.
And it seems Rice’s injury is not a major concern either, with the 27-year-old insisting he’s fine and he’ll be back for the next game against Ghana.
Declan Rice calms injury fears after England beat Croatia
Speaking after the game, as quoted by the Metro, Rice sounded upbeat and explained that he only went off as a precaution due to carrying a minor niggle for some time.
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“All good, good as gold,” Rice said to ITV.
“Just what I’ve been nursing probably in the second half of the season, little neural pains here and there, but I’m all good.
“All fine, just precaution and I’ll be back out there against Ghana.”
Declan Rice delivers again with assist and solid display
Rice is Mr Reliable for club and country, and WhoScored had him down as one of England’s top performers in last night’s win, with a 7.6/10 rating.
The Gunners midfielder always plays with great energy, doing his defensive work whilst also driving the team forward with his range of passing and ball-carrying ability.
On top of that, he picked up an assist with one of his trademark corner kick deliveries, which Harry Kane headed in.
Needless to say, Rice is not a player England would want to be without for long, so it was probably sensible from Tuchel to remove him early just to be on the safe side.
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