Declan Rice among five England players withdrawn from Thomas Tuchel’s squad

Declan Rice is one of five England players to have withdrawn from Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the forthcoming Nations League fixtures.

The Arsenal midfielder has been joined in pulling out by Newcastle defender Tino Livramento, Chelsea forward Cole Palmer and Manchester United pair Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford.

According to the English newspaper The Sun, all five players were removed from the Three Lions’ squad because of injury problems. Rice’s absence, however, is understood to be linked to workload management.

James Garner and Morgan Gibbs-White were subsequently called up and will report to St George’s Park on Tuesday, where they will join the rest of the England squad.

Tuchel’s side will begin the upcoming run of fixtures at home to Spain at Wembley on Saturday. England will then travel to Prague to face the Czech Republic on Tuesday.

The schedule continues with a trip to Rijeka on 3 October to play Croatia, before England return to London for another meeting with the Czech Republic on 6 October in the Nations League.

Rice was a key figure in England’s 2026 World Cup campaign, during which they finished third. That remains the national team’s best result since winning the tournament in 1966.

The Arsenal player featured in every match at last summer’s World Cup apart from England’s final group game against Panama. His international appearance total consequently reached 80 caps.

The decision to leave Rice out of the latest squad means he will not take part in the forthcoming Nations League matches, with England instead managing his workload during the international break.

Tuchel has therefore had to make several changes to his original selection, with Garner and Gibbs-White added after the five withdrawals.