Thomas Tuchel gives update on three injured players ahead of England’s World Cup quarter-final against Norway
England manager Thomas Tuchel has issued an update on three injuries besetting the England squad as they prepare for their quarter finals match.
The FIFA World Cup quarter finals are now well underway, with England set to face off against Norway and their formidable striker Erling Haaland.
But the Lions now have a big injury boost to the side as Tuchel revealed that three players who had been out with injuries will be returning to training ahead of the match.
Declan Rice, Marc Guehi and Reece James have all rejoined the squad for training as the team prepares for their upcoming showdown with Norway.
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James had suffered a hamstring injury while England were playing against Ghana, and had been out of action since then.
Guehi had also suffered a problem with his hamstring, while Rice had a neural hamstring problem which had been affecting him since the start of the year, though Tuchel revealed this hadn't kept him from playing against DR Congo, but he requested to come off due to 'terrible pain'.
But the three will return for England's quarter final match against Norway.
Speaking about their victory over Mexico, Tuchel told a pre-match conference: "I think we took a big step in our last match, but it was only a step.
"We’re still hungry, we still have dreams and we still have a big goal to play for. The next step is to win the quarter-final.
"We left this match behind. We take the positive things and the belief with us, but everything that matters is ahead of us."
He added: "We had everyone available in training. That’s the best news."
The injury returns mean that Tuchel can select from a full squad in the quarter final, with the exception of Jarell Quansah due to being sent off in their previous match.
The World Cup is now moving into its final stages, with both teams for the first of the semi final matches now confirmed.
France was the first team to take make it to this stage after beating Morocco 2-0, and Spain have now won their place against France following a 2-1 victory over Belgium, with the first semi final match scheduled for 14 July.
Two matches remain in the quarter finals, with the next fixture seeing England taking on Norway after England edged through in a hard fought 3-2 victory against Mexico, while Norway scored a surprise 2-1 victory against Brazil.
Meanwhile, the final fixture of the quarter finals will see Argentina playing Switzerland, and the victor of this will face off against either England or Norway on 15 July.
The final is scheduled for 19 July, though it's still anyone's guess which teams will be there for the final showdown in what has been an exciting and at times controversial World Cup.
Kit Roberts