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Thomas Tuchel has plotted a diplomatic course through the storm that has followed the withdrawals of Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka from the England squad, saying the optics may look bad but he has “100% trust” in their integrity.

The England head coach gave Rice and Saka last week off, letting them rest rather than play in the 1-1 draw against Uruguay at Wembley on Friday – along with nine others. His idea was to have all 11 back for the game against Japan on Tuesday, also at Wembley, for which he would release a group of players.

Rice and Saka did report, the former working on the grass in training on Saturday, the latter in the gym. But Tuchel said they continued to feel discomfort after their involvement with Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City on the Sunday before last and, as such, had to stand down.

A host of other Arsenal players have either been unavailable for their countries during the international window with pre-existing injuries or withdrew shortly after their call-ups. Jurriën Timber, Martin Ødegaard and Eberechi Eze were in the first category; William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães and Leandro Trossard in the latter. Piero Hincapié, Martín Zubimendi and Noni Madueke have gone home after playing some part in the matches. Madueke was injured for England against Uruguay. Arsenal lost the Carabao Cup final but are pushing for a Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble.

“I understand the looks of it,” Tuchel said when asked about the withdrawals of Rice and Saka. “I still have 100% trust in the honesty of Declan and Bukayo. We did medical tests. I saw them. I have no reason to believe that either are not honest with me. But given the amount of Arsenal players, I understand the look.

“We knew after the [Carabao Cup] final that there are issues. They were in treatment. But they both came. Declan was even out on the pitch. He did not come and say: ‘Guys, I’m going home.’ I heard there were camps where players did not even show up with boots. Bukayo did sessions in the gym to really try. Declan had a session on the pitch with Jude [Bellingham, who is also not fully fit] and said it doesn’t feel right. Why would I take any risks?

“They wanted desperately to be involved – just to get the narrative straight. But they were both clearly in discomfort.”

Tuchel did not offer specifics about the issues affecting Rice and Saka, saying Arsenal would “not be happy” if he did so. He said: “Declan feels a discomfort since quite a while and he’s playing through it. He’s just now on the edge where he thinks: ‘Does this make sense, what I’m doing here, to push through with 70% and push myself and push myself?’ The same with Bukayo.”

Tuchel reported that scans on Madueke’s knee were “slightly better than his feeling but he will be out for some days”. Bellingham will play no part against Japan as he works his way back from a hamstring injury, while Jordan Henderson followed an individual programme indoors on Monday and is unlikely to feature.

Zubimendi’s withdrawal from the Spain squad came after he played the final 13 minutes of their 3-0 win against Serbia on Friday and felt knee pain. The Spanish Football Federation said the decision was made “to avoid any risk and protect the player’s health”.

Tuchel is worried about the remorseless nature of the schedule for Premier League clubs and how it will affect his players for the World Cup. “It is a threat [to England’s hopes],” he said. “Not the biggest one but it is a threat. Fatigue is just a fact. That’s why we did this camp as we have done – to give the ones who were heavily involved a break. I’m 100% convinced we will get the benefit from it – now against Japan and later.”