Declan Rice Injury Update: Tuchel Confident for Ghana Clash

Thomas Tuchel moved quickly to calm England nerves after Declan Rice was withdrawn during the 4-2 win over Croatia, insisting his midfield anchor should be ready to face Ghana in the next Group Stage clash.

Rice, who had been at the heart of England’s impressive opening to their 2026 World Cup campaign, was substituted in the second half after Tuchel spotted something was not right.

“Declan had some unusual ball losses and I saw a bit of discomfort,” the England head coach explained. When he checked with his midfielder on the touchline, the response was immediate: Rice pointed to his lower back and upper hamstring, signalling the source of the problem.

That was enough for Tuchel. The risk was not worth it on matchday one of a long tournament.

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

Rice had already done his damage by then, dictating play and giving England the platform for a statement 4-2 victory to open their World Cup campaign. Tuchel was quick to underline that, describing it as a “fantastic game” from his midfielder and stressing that the change was precautionary rather than a sign of a serious issue.

The player himself backed that up in the mixed zone afterwards. Relaxed, smiling, Rice brushed off fears of a major injury.

“All good, good as gold,” he said. He linked the discomfort to what he had “been nursing, probably, in the second half of the season at Arsenal, little neural pains here and there,” but made it clear there was no fresh damage to worry about.

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

For England, that is the key line. Their system under Tuchel is built around Rice’s authority in the middle of the pitch. One group game in, he has already shown why. And if his own words and his manager’s assessment hold true, he will be back in the XI when Ghana provide the next examination of England’s World Cup credentials.