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England boss Thomas Tuchel has been proven right by Bukayo Saka, and not in a particularly good way. Saka has been held back at the World Cup so far, given he is recovering from a pretty significant hamstring injury.
The winger has had a very busy season with Arsenal, and there has been little rest during a title-winning campaign, and indeed one that saw the Gunners reach the Champions League final.
Saka required a hamstring operation back in January, and his return has not been a particularly comfortable one, running into the World Cup.
Tuchel promised to take care of Saka
Coming into the World Cup, England boss Tuchel was clear on Saka needing to be careful as he continues to build up to full fitness.
"We still have to take a little bit of care for Bukayo [Saka] who had an injury in March and carried it through the club campaign," Tuchel said.
"He made himself available at the end of the season and did so brilliantly, but he was managed in between matches. That continues a bit at the moment - we are building him up."
Saka doesn't look right
Saka started the final group stage game against Panama, and it's fair to say he looked rusty. If we are being honest, the winger has not looked 100 per cent at all this summer.
It is always much more obvious with explosive players like Saka, who need that quick burst of speed to beat defenders. Saka appears to be pulling out of some potential duels, turning back inside, and he doesn't look to be sprinting at full pace, which is likely a wise move.
But while Arsenal fans will want Saka to be careful, there should be concern, given the winger will have limited rest before the season starts again.
If Saka is incapable of sprinting at full speed, you do wonder why he was even taken to the World Cup. There seems to be a notion that players are going to find full fitness during the tournament, but that simply does not happen.
A tournament is not a setting to build up fitness. Players have a solid base from the season, and they lean on that heavily to get them through a condensed schedule. A condensed schedule of that nature is not going to build your fitness because it lacks a progressive structure. It is overloading in nature, which is a far stretch from the slow progression any athlete needs to build fitness.
It's the same for muscles, and Saka will know himself that playing in this tournament is not going to strengthen his hamstring to where it needs to be. Again, a more systematic strengthening programme is going to be required, and for Arsenal to do that, they would be wise to keep the winger out for the start of the season to avoid risk when the season gets busy.
Fans clamoured for Saka to start early in this World Cup, but anyone with an eye for athletic performance can see that he is not ready, and the truth is that he is unlikely to be truly ready for the rest of this tournament.
That's not to say he cannot and will not contribute - he is a good enough player to do it at sub-optimal fitness - but there will be concern from Arsenal fans, and there is good reason for it.
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