Madueke snubbed by Tuchel as Rice returns to England squad
Noni Madueke has been left out of Thomas Tuchel's latest England squad, despite scoring the winner against Slavia Prague in midweek and the only goal in a recent 1-0 victory at Nottingham Forest.
There had been growing expectation that the winger would be included, particularly with Bukayo Saka sidelined by a quad injury. Instead, Fulham's Josh King and Borussia Dortmund's Jobe Bellingham were the wide options handed call ups, according to football.london.
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Madueke has three goals and one assist in his last eight appearances for Arsenal. He was a key figure in Tuchel's World Cup squad over the summer, starting four matches on the road to the semi finals, but he also missed the most recent camp, sitting out Nations League fixtures against Spain, Czechia (twice) and Croatia. He reportedly used that omission as motivation during his recent run of form at club level.
Rice returns despite rotation concerns
Declan Rice is back involved with England after withdrawing from last month's squad due to load management, prioritising rest instead. He has since featured prominently for Arsenal, starting against Slavia Prague despite heavy rotation elsewhere in the side.
Mikel Arteta explained the decision to play Rice, saying: โWell, the game required it and he did. He was as well rested against Fleetwood. So he had a very good week to recover. It's the second one that I play, not the fifth one. So we expect our players to be able to do that. I think he had some very good moments.โ
Rice battled neural hamstring pain at the World Cup and required injections to feature, though he was fit for the start of the season following a short rest period. He was spotted clutching the back of his right hamstring during the 2-0 win over Everton just weeks ago, and his continued involvement across both club and country will raise questions about how he is managed through the busy winter schedule.
White returns, others handed call ups
Ben White has also been recalled to the England squad. He last featured back in March, scoring and conceding a penalty in the same match against Uruguay, before a knee injury ruled him out of World Cup contention.
Ezri Konsa, Eberechi Eze and Myles Lewis-Skelly have also been included in Tuchel's squad.
Arsenal fans will be watching closely to see how Rice is utilised over the international break given the fitness concerns, while Madueke's snub only adds further intrigue to his recent run of form in north London.
