Saka prepared to push through Achilles pain in World Cup bid

England winger Bukayo Saka said he was willing to risk his fitness and play through the pain for Thomas Tuchel’s team at the World Cup, insisting he was fit to feature against Croatia on Wednesday despite an Achilles issue.

The ‌Arsenal winger had his workload carefully managed towards the end of the season, starting one game in almost a month, and admitted he has not felt at full sharpness.

But he remains determined to contribute, despite coach Tuchel recently noting Saka has been unable to train on successive days because of the problem.

The 24-year-old Saka said players often have to make a call between protecting themselves and meeting expectations and vowed to play through the pain.

“As players, it’s the biggest gamble, especially if you’re not feeling your sharpest. You have the choice whether you don’t play or you put yourself out there knowing people are going to judge you the same.

“At the end of the day, people don’t ⁠really care how you’re feeling, they expect you to deliver, and they expect you to perform.

“I’m happy to take the gamble. It paid off, I’d say. I’m going to continue doing that. But I am feeling a lot better than I did in March and I’m ready to go.”

Saka’s last start was for Arsenal in their Champions League final loss to Paris Saint-Germain on May 30 when he played 83 minutes.

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