{"id":49159,"date":"2026-06-24T22:20:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T02:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/24\/arsenal-and-chelsea-stars-face-fitness-checks-as-england-face-injury-blow-at-world-cup\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T22:20:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T02:20:11","slug":"arsenal-and-chelsea-stars-face-fitness-checks-as-england-face-injury-blow-at-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/24\/arsenal-and-chelsea-stars-face-fitness-checks-as-england-face-injury-blow-at-world-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal and Chelsea stars face fitness checks as England face injury blow at World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/24\/arsenal-and-chelsea-stars-face-fitness-checks-as-england-face-injury-blow-at-world-cup\/#Declan_Rices_injury_doesnt_seem_too_serious\" >Declan Rice&#8217;s injury doesn&#8217;t seem too serious<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/24\/arsenal-and-chelsea-stars-face-fitness-checks-as-england-face-injury-blow-at-world-cup\/#Reece_James_was_uncomfortable_against_Ghana\" >Reece James was uncomfortable against Ghana<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa react after the England-Ghana draw (Photo by Justin Setterfield\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p><strong>After last night&#8217;s disappointing draw with Ghana, there is more worrying World Cup news for England today. There are reportedly concerns about the fitness of Declan Rice and Reece James ahead of the match against Panama.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The two are key players in Thomas Tuchel&#8217;s team, having started both matches against Croatia and Ghana in the World Cup so far.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Download the official CaughtOffSide app to get all the latest news and updates straight to your phone. above <span role=\"presentation\"><u>apple<\/u><\/span>  &#038; <span role=\"presentation\"><u>Google play<\/u><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>However, the Telegraph now reports that both players face fitness checks ahead of the game against Panama.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what we know so far based on the report\u2026<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Declan_Rices_injury_doesnt_seem_too_serious\"><\/span>Declan Rice&#8217;s injury doesn&#8217;t seem too serious<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Rice did not play 90 minutes against Croatia and had some problems in the closing stages of the 0-0 draw against Ghana.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Telegraph, the Arsenal midfielder left the stadium with his left calf strapped, but it is not believed to be a serious or long-term problem.<\/p>\n<p>But a late check on Rice could become a necessary issue ahead of England&#8217;s final group game against Panama.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Reece_James_was_uncomfortable_against_Ghana\"><\/span>Reece James was uncomfortable against Ghana<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Reports are a little vague about James&#8217; fitness, with the Chelsea right-back said to have felt discomfort against Ghana.<\/p>\n<p>Still, James has been able to play 90 minutes in both of England&#8217;s games so far, even though he has a poor injury record over the years so it may be wise to be cautious.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Want more catchoffside coverage? Add us <\/i><\/b><b><i><span draggable=\"true\">Google recommended sources<\/span><\/i><\/b><b><i>    Add trusted news to your favorites list<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p>The 26-year-old is an important player for England, with the Telegraph reporting that Tuchel is training him in midfield as a potential replacement for Rice.<\/p>\n<p>However, both players are likely to miss the game against Panama, which will be a huge blow to the Three Lions&#8217; preparations, which at the moment looks like a close group.<\/p>\n<p>England are level with Ghana on four points, Croatia have three points and Panama have zero points.<\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End -->\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa react after the England-Ghana draw (Photo by Justin Setterfield\/Getty Images) After last night&#8217;s disappointing draw with Ghana, there is more worrying World Cup news for England today. There are reportedly concerns about the fitness of Declan Rice and Reece James ahead of the match against Panama. The two are key [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49160,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[40],"class_list":["post-49159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-football"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}