England star Declan Rice makes worrying injury admission days after concerning substitution
Declan Rice has disclosed that he has been battling nerve pain in his hamstring since Christmas, keeping the issue hidden from public view for six months.The Arsenal midfielder made the revelation following England's 4-2 victory over Croatia, where he was withdrawn after 72 minutes due to discomfort."I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a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," Rice told ITV. "Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind the scenes stuff."The 27-year-old labelled the current fixture calendar as excessive, having racked up 63 appearances this campaign across club and international duty."It's an obscene amount of games," he admitted. "The schedule was crazy but what can we do about it? You can't sit and complain."Despite the ongoing issue, Rice insisted he is fully prepared for England's second group stage encounter against Ghana at Gillette Stadium in Boston on Tuesday."I'm ready and fit, raring to go," the vice-captain declared.The problem relates to his upper hamstring, with pain radiating into his lower back. However, Rice backed Thomas Tuchel's decision to remove him from the Croatia match as a precautionary measure."That last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most," he explained. "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."The Ghana fixture will mark Rice's 64th match of the season.Rice expressed his determination to sacrifice everything for England's World Cup campaign, emphasising his passion for the game."You know you'd put your body on the line to be here always and to play," he said. "It's a lot of games, but we'll get our break at the end."The midfielder revealed he thrives on a packed schedule rather than finding it burdensome."I just love playing football. I love being durable," Rice added. "I love having that rhythm of playing three games a week at club. I wouldn't like playing once a week, having to wait until another week until the next matchday."He described his durability as something that has come naturally throughout his career, having accumulated an extraordinary number of appearances for someone his age.Rice drew parallels between Arsenal's title-winning mentality and England's ambitions in North America."I think it's just about not getting distracted, focusing on the job," he reflected on the Gunners' success in ending their 22-year wait for the Premier League trophy.The midfielder acknowledged that consecutive European Championship final defeats have fuelled the squad's hunger for silverware."We've got that fire in us to know we want to go one step further, and we believe we can," Rice stated.Tuchel has reassured his players they possess the physical attributes to handle the challenging conditions across the tournament."The manager's been really clear with us and with this squad that we have the strength and power to outrun and outplay teams," Rice confirmed.Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter
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