Bukayo Saka is one of England’s most important players. He’s also one of their most fragile heading into the World Cup, and Thomas Tuchel isn’t pretending otherwise.
England’s head coach confirmed on June 9 that Saka is still recovering from the Achilles injury he sustained during the national team’s March 2026 camp. The winger trained fully that day ahead of a friendly against Costa Rica, but he’d missed the previous session.
Not at 100%, and Tuchel knows it
Tuchel was blunt about the situation. Saka is “still not at 100%” and will need to be “managed” throughout the tournament. The coach went further, saying it’s “very unlikely” that Saka will start and finish every match during the World Cup.
The inability to train on consecutive days is particularly telling. At this stage of World Cup preparation, with friendlies serving as tactical rehearsals and fitness benchmarks, a player who can’t string together back-to-back sessions is clearly operating with a significant physical limitation.
