Declan Rice only has a few days to recharge his batteries before England are back in action, dropping the curtain on the World Cup group stages with a clash against Panama.
10:34, 24 Jun 2026Updated 10:45, 24 Jun 2026
Declan Rice of England reacts during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group L match between England and Ghana at Boston Stadium on June 23, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts
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Declan Rice during England's clash against Ghana(Image: Photo by MB Media/Getty Images)
Declan Rice appeared to suffer a knock during England's goalless draw to Ghana. The Arsenal midfielder was spotted leaving the Gillette Stadium on Tuesday night with a limp and significant strapping around his left calf.
As it stands, the severity of the problem remains unclear; Thomas Tuchel will be expected to provide an update on Rice ahead of the Three Lions' clash against Panama at the MetLife Stadium on Saturday evening.
In the meantime, the England squad will return to their training base in Kansas City, where they'll begin preparations for the final group-stage fixture. The former West Ham captain will be encouraged to recharge his batteries as he continues to nurse a hamstring injury, with pain creeping into his lower back.
Last week, following the Three Lions' opening win over Croatia, Rice provided an update on his fitness. The 27-year-old, who was replaced by Morgan Rogers in the final quarter of an hour or so, told ITV Sport: "I’m ready and fit, raring to go.
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"I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff, but it was a smart decision.
"In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70‑minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good."
Last season, Rice featured 55 times across all competitions for Arsenal, scoring five goals and providing 11 assists. Even though he was rested in the FA Cup and the early stages of the Carabao Cup, the Englishman still ended up playing nearly 4,500 minutes of action.
Declan Rice
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Declan Rice of England was forced off against Croatia
Since the start of last season, Rice has also played – and started – nine out of a possible 12 games for England. He continued: "It’s an obscene amount of games. The schedule was crazy, but what can we do about it?
"You can’t sit and complain. We have to just get on with it for the moments like I had in the Premier League, winning that Premier League. You know you’d play as many games as possible to have that feeling again and knowing that there’s a World Cup at the end of it as well.
"You know you’d put your body on the line to be always in to play. It’s a lot of games, but we’ll get our break at the end."
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The England squad have been given Wednesday to rest and recover. The Three Lions will then have two days of training before jetting off to New York to face Panama.
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