Arsenal receive triple injury update from Thomas Tuchel as Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka England withdrawals explained

England head coach Thomas Tuchel has set the record straight on the injuries that forced Arsenal duo Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka to leave the Three Lions camp over the weekend.

The midfielder and attacker were among several players left out of the matchday squad for Friday's 1-1 friendly draw with Uruguay, alongside the likes of Harry Kane, Anthony Gordon and Marc Guehi.

Rice and Saka were initially expected to be involved in Tuesday's friendly with Japan, but the pair were among eight England players to withdraw from the squad on Saturday, alongside Madueke, Adam Wharton, Aaron Ramsdale, Fikayo Tomori, John Stones and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

No fewer than 10 Arsenal players have dropped out of international duty this month, a list that also includes Piero Hincapie, Jurrien Timber, Martin Zubimendi, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and Leandro Trossard, as well as Eberechi Eze and his serious calf injury.

The Gunners' spate of withdrawals has led to suggestions from rival fans that their injuries are not genuine, and Mikel Arteta is simply trying to remove his players from international duty to avoid any risks for their treble fight.

Thomas Tuchel issues update on Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke injuries

However, speaking to the media in Monday's pre-game press conference, Tuchel insisted that Rice and Saka were struggling with discomfort and there was a serious risk of making their issues worse had they featured against Japan.

"There is nothing more to add from me," Tuchel said. "We had an assessment after the match and none of them were able to stay, so we released them. They wanted desperately to play to get the narrative straight but it made no sense to take this risk.

"If it was the last game of the season we would have kept them and tried everything but in this moment it did not make sense. The risk for making it worse was just way too big - they were both clearly in discomfort when we did the medical assessment."

Asked for an update specifically on Madueke - who was filmed leaving Wembley with his leg in a brace on Friday evening - Tuchel added: "The pictures were slightly better than he's feeling, but he will be out for some days."

The ex-Chelsea winger will almost certainly miss the FA Cup quarter-final with Southampton this weekend, and he can also be considered a major doubt for the first leg of their Champions League last-eight tie with Sporting Lisbon next Tuesday.

Thomas Tuchel sets record straight amid Arsenal injury scepticism

Questions surrounding the validity of Arsenal's injuries from rival supporters were understandable, especially when no fewer than 11 players - and 11 important senior players - all withdraw from their national teams.

The timing of the announcements raised further scepticism too, as every player who has pulled out has already achieved World Cup qualification with their nations and would only be competing in friendlies.

However, players cannot simply decide to head home from an international camp without thorough medical assessment, and there are no 'mind games' or 'dark arts' at play from Arteta in this instance.

At this stage of the season, for a team competing on four fronts, players are bound to be carrying knocks and niggles from the unrelenting schedule, and smart - if unpopular - decisions have been taken from Arsenal and the national teams.