England's Declan Rice Provides Injury Update After World Cup Opening Win

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - England midfielder Declan Rice has eased concerns over his fitness after limping off during the Three Lions' 4-2 victory over Croatia in their opening Group L match at the 2026 World Cup, with both the player and head coach Thomas Tuchel confident he will be available for the next game against Ghana.

England began their World Cup campaign in impressive fashion on Wednesday, defeating Croatia 4-2 thanks to a Harry Kane brace and goals from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford. However, concerns emerged in the second half when Rice was substituted after appearing uncomfortable.

As reported by Yahoo Sports UK, the Arsenal midfielder was seen hobbling after leaving the pitch in the 72nd minute, slightly dampening the celebratory mood following England's strong opening performance.

Rice had delivered an influential display in midfield alongside Elliot Anderson and played a key role in England's attack, assisting Kane's second goal of the match before being replaced by Morgan Rogers.

Speaking after the game, Rice downplayed fears of a serious injury and suggested the issue was linked to a problem he had been managing since the latter stages of Arsenal's season.

"All good, good as gold," Rice said. "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 manager Thomas Tuchel also moved quickly to reassure supporters, explaining that the substitution was made primarily as a precaution rather than because of a significant injury.

According to AOL, Tuchel noticed signs of discomfort after Rice experienced some uncharacteristic mistakes in possession and immediately checked on his condition.

"Declan had some unusual ball losses and I saw a bit of discomfort," Tuchel said. "I asked him, and he pointed directly to his lower back, upper hamstring, that he feels the discomfort."

The German coach admitted he rarely wants to remove Rice from the pitch but believed it was necessary to protect one of England's most important players ahead of the remainder of the tournament.

"I didn't want to take any risk, so I decided to take Declan off — which I never wanted to do — but it was the moment to protect him," Tuchel said.

He also praised Rice's overall contribution against Croatia and revealed that the midfielder personally reassured him after the final whistle.

"He had a fantastic game, so I hope it's nothing more, and he just reassured me at the end: 'It's good, and I know the discomfort'. We will take care of it, and this is nothing big to worry about."

Rice's substitution was the only notable concern on an otherwise positive night for England. Croatia twice fought back to level the score through Martin Baturina and Petar Musa, but Bellingham restored England's advantage shortly after halftime before Rashford sealed the victory with an 85th-minute goal.

There were also brief concerns over Rashford's condition after the forward appeared to clutch his hamstring late in the match. However, Tuchel indicated that there were no major injury worries involving the Manchester United attacker.

"Let's see, I hope they are OK because I would never normally take Declan out, but I didn't want to take any risk," Tuchel said.

England now turn their attention to Ghana, whom they will face in Boston next Tuesday. Based on the assurances provided by both Rice and Tuchel, the midfielder is expected to be available as the Three Lions seek a second consecutive victory and a place in the World Cup knockout stage.

Read: England's Thomas Tuchel Replaces Injured Livramento With Chalobah to World Cup Squad

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