Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has become an injury and illness concern for England ahead of their World Cup quarter-final against Norway after missing training with a virus.
The 27-year-old has reportedly been isolated from the rest of Thomas Tuchel’s squad after falling ill in an effort to prevent any potential outbreak within the England camp.
Rice has already been playing through a neural issue affecting his lower back and hamstring during the tournament.
The illness has now complicated his preparations for Saturday’s last-eight encounter in Miami, with reports suggesting he has missed two consecutive training sessions.
Despite the setback, there remains optimism within the England camp that Rice will recover in time to feature.
England’s medical staff are understood to be confident the illness has been contained, reducing fears of it spreading through the squad before one of the country’s biggest matches of the tournament.
Rice has been one of England’s key performers throughout the World Cup despite his ongoing fitness issues.
The Arsenal midfielder has started every knockout match so far and has repeatedly shown his commitment by playing through pain.
Following England’s dramatic victory over DR Congo in the Round of 32, Tuchel revealed Rice had finished the match in “terrible pain” before being substituted late on.
The England manager later explained the issue was related to neural pain rather than a muscle injury and expressed confidence that Rice would recover for the next fixture.
He was subsequently fit enough to start the last-16 victory over Mexico, where England produced an impressive display to book their place in the quarter-finals.
Rice again completed the majority of the contest as the Three Lions overcame difficult conditions and a resilient Mexican side.
For Arsenal, the latest update will inevitably be monitored closely.
Mikel Arteta has already seen several of his senior players accumulate heavy minutes during the summer tournament, including Bukayo Saka, who has become one of England’s standout attacking performers.
William Saliba is also continuing to play for France while carefully managing an ongoing back problem, with Les Bleus reducing his workload in training.
England already have selection issues after Jarell Quansah’s suspension following his red card against Mexico, while Reece James continues to race against time to recover from a hamstring injury.
Rice’s availability would therefore provide a major boost for Tuchel.
Although his latest absence from training has raised understandable concerns, England remain hopeful their influential Arsenal midfielder will be ready to anchor the midfield as they attempt to reach the World Cup semi-finals.