England taking care of Saka before World Cup - Tuchel

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Bukayo Saka won his first cap for England in October 2020 By Sami Mokbel Senior football correspondent Published 11 minutes ago England head coach Thomas Tuchel says Bukayo Saka's fitness is being carefully managed heading into the World Cup. The Arsenal attacker missed part of the domestic season climax through a muscle injury, though he did return in time for the club's run-in as they won the Premier League title. Tuchel said Saka, who has scored 14 goals in 48 appearances for the Three Lions, still requires careful attention before the tournament - which has raised some concerns given he is a key player. "We still have to take a little bit of care for Bukayo [Saka] who had an injury in March and carried it through the club campaign," Tuchel told a news conference. "He made himself available at the end of the season and did so brilliantly, but he was managed in between matches. That continues a bit at the moment - we are building him up. "We just came from training and everyone was involved including Bukayo." Tuchel said he must assess Saka and the rest of his England squad before deciding who starts the final warm-up match against Costa Rica on Wednesday (21:00 BST). Having made 11 changes at half-time in Saturday's 1-0 win against New Zealand , Tuchel will give some players a longer run-out to build their fitness before the tournament opener with Croatia. John Stones is among the players who could benefit from more game time having played a peripheral role at Manchester City last season. "Of course [Stones can start]. Everyone can start - everyone is fit and ready and John is one of them," said Tuchel. "Before this, we have two more matches to play and hopefully we take the next step. Hopefully we all stay healthy and have the full availability for Croatia. "No-one needs a break. Everyone is available which is very good news. No [injury] complaints after the first match. "[We've had] one day of recovery and two good training sessions. We are ready to give it a push tomorrow - meaning more than 45 minutes. "Players will play 60, maybe 70 minutes. We will make this decision in the afternoon." Why super-sized and politicised World Cup comes at a cost Published 15 hours ago Twenty new players to watch at World Cup 2026 Published 14 hours ago 'Challengers, not favourites' Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Thomas Tuchel is England's third foreign coach after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello Tuchel insisted that England are not the favourites to lift the World Cup at the end of July. England have reached two European Championship finals in succession and been tipped to go deep into the tournament in North America. "If you get to two Euros finals, and reach semi-finals and quarter-finals of the World Cup, then you are there - then you can win it," the 52-year-old German said. "Then maybe it just takes a bit of luck or whatever. I strongly believe we are there, but I also believe we are not the fa