Rice dismisses fitness fears after hamstring issue frustrated him at the World Cup

Declan Rice has moved to ease concerns about his fitness and workload at Arsenal, admitting a neural hamstring complaint and a bout of illness left him struggling to perform at his best during England’s run to the World Cup semi-finals last summer.

The midfielder finished the 2024-25 season on 69 appearances for club and country — a total that included Arsenal’s run to the Champions League final, where they lost to PSG on penalties — and showed visible signs of fatigue with the Three Lions in the United States. Rice, however, insists the volume is manageable after taking a complete break before returning to pre-season.

“I think for the last six seasons, even since my West Ham days when it was in Europe, I’ve played 60 plus every season,” Rice said. “So I think it is sustainable because I’ve shown that I can do it. It’s just about maintaining it, maintaining the level and the consistency of the performances.”

Rice was candid about the difficulties he encountered at the tournament. “Everyone knew I had an issue with a neural hamstring,” he explained. “But also on the top of the Premier League season, which was so demanding, the Champions League, to then play a World Cup in that heat really does take its toll. There were stages where I felt really, really good and stages where I didn’t feel I was good. And obviously I had the illness going into the Norway game, which didn’t really help.”

He pointed to England’s group-stage victory over Congo as a moment when he felt closer to his best, and credited a deliberate period of rest for resetting him ahead of the new campaign. “In the summer, I just took a complete time off,” he said.

Arsenal opened their Champions League group phase with a 1-0 win over Napoli, Martin Odegaard’s strike securing the points, and Rice says the result has sharpened his appetite for another deep European run — particularly after the heartbreak of last season’s final defeat to PSG.

“I’m really hungry to be able to do that again this season,” he added. “Showing up every week, giving a good account of myself and helping the team win — that’s the main thing.”