Harry Kane defends Declan Rice after Arsenal star explained England drop out

· Mirror

Declan Rice was one of five players to pull out of the England squad for the four Nations League games in the current international break, but Harry Kane understands his reasoning

Declan Rice “reached out” to Harry Kane to explain why he pulled out of England duty.

Arsenal midfielder Rice was one of five players, along with Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford, Robbie Mainoo and Tino Livramento, to withdraw from the squad for the Nations League fixtures, with Morgan Gibbs-White and James Garner called up as replacements.

Kane was highly critical of nine players pulling out in November 2024 by insisting “England comes before everything” but was more sympathetic this time.

Palmer missed the World Cup and had played the whole 90 minutes of Chelsea’s last four Premier League games, but Rice struggled in the World Cup because he played 69 games for club and country last season.

> England captain Kane said: “Look, everyone has their own situation. I know how tough the summer was and I know especially in the Premier League how gruelling that schedule is. I'm in a different situation now where I have the winter break and I have moments to recharge and refresh. Some of the players don't get that.

> “Everyone has to look after themselves and put themselves first, and I trust all the boys. I spoke to Dec, and I know Dec goes far and beyond for the club and country, so I know how much he gives and I know he's been struggling for a while with his issues.

> “Some someone like Dec has to get himself sorted and get himself fresh, and he has big games for club, big games for country coming up. You know, there's situations where you've got to do what you've got to do, and that's between the coach and the player.

> “I've not spoken to Cole, no. Dec just reached out to me just personally. He just sent me a message, just kind of voice noted me. They don't have to talk to me. I know they spoke to the coach, so, yeah, that's down to the players.”

England host Spain at Wembley on Saturday before heading to Prague to play Czechia next Tuesday. Tuchel's side then head to Rijeka to play Croatia on October 3 before finally hosting Czechia at Wembley on October 6.

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