Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Matt Verri

Thomas Tuchel reveals 'scary' concern for England ahead of World Cup after Japan defeat

Night to forget: Thomas Tuchel reacts during England’s shock loss to Japan at Wembley - (Action Images via Reuters)

Thomas Tuchel admitted he is scared of receiving bad injury news over the next two months after fitness issues derailed England's last camp before the World Cup.

The Three Lions had hoped this would be an international window to showcase their strength in depth and further bed in key principles to leave them in strong shape for this summer's tournament.

Instead, England were held to a 1-1 draw by Uruguay last week and then lost 1-0 to Japan on Tuesday night, their final match before Tuchel names his World Cup squad.

The German's options were depleted at Wembley. Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Noni Madueke were among those to withdraw from the squad due to fitness concerns, while Harry Kane picked up a minor injury on the eve of the Japan game.

Tuchel will now be a spectator for the final two months of the club season, hoping his players can avoid injuries that would hinder England as much as has been the case over the past week.

"It will be scary to watch TV on the weekends," Tuchel said. "From now on every muscle injury can mean a player misses out.

"Jordan Henderson is a key figure for us in camp. He's out. Declan Rice is out. Bukayo is out. They are captains for their clubs and they drive the standards.

"And then Harry Kane drops out. It's basically the leadership group who is not available. It affects of course a group."

It is hoped that none of those who missed the Japan match have particularly serious injuries, with England instead keen to manage the workload of the players who have already had hectic seasons.

Those knocks are not of particular concern to Tuchel for now, but even the most minor of injuries will start to give him sleepless nights in the weeks ahead.

"All these injuries I think will be still manageable in the window of time that we have, to be invested in club football in May and be ready for the World Cup," Tuchel said.

"But from now on, the next eight weeks I'm concerned of course. I hope that everything goes well for the players, that they stay healthy."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.