Thomas Tuchel has revealed that England are carefully managing Bukayo Saka's fitness ahead of the final World Cup warm-up friendly against Costa Rica on Wednesday. The Arsenal winger missed the 1-0 win over New Zealand at the weekend after joining the squad late following the Champions League final.
Saka was forced to withdraw from the England squad during the March international break due to injury, which then caused him to miss six consecutive matches for Arsenal. He returned for the Champions League semi-final first leg against Atletico Madrid and started four of the remaining five games of the season.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference on Tuesday evening, Tuchel said: 'We have to take care with Bukayo who had an injury in the March camp and carried it through to the club campaign. He made himself available and was brilliant. He was managed in between matches – we are also building him up.'
Tuchel also confirmed that Arsenal trio Eberechi Eze, Declan Rice and Noni Madueke are '100 percent' fit and ready to play for the first time since the Champions League final loss to Paris Saint-Germain. 'No-one needs a break. Everyone is available which is very good news,' he added.
The England head coach indicated that players will see increased minutes against Costa Rica, with some featuring for 60 to 70 minutes. He also mentioned a behind-closed-doors match at the training facility before the squad departs for Kansas to begin their World Cup preparations.
