Bukayo Saka Trains Alone Again. England’s Attack Might Need a Plan B vs. Ghana.

Bukayo Saka was the odd man out at England’s training session on Saturday. While the rest of the squad went through full drills at Swope Soccer Village, the Arsenal winger worked through an individual program off to the side. It’s the second straight session he’s missed with the group.

That nagging Achilles issue that limited him to about 19 minutes off the bench against Croatia? It’s still there. Thomas Tuchel didn’t rule him out for Tuesday’s match against Ghana in Foxborough, but a start looks unlikely. Maybe even a long shot.

The Saka problem and what it means

England opened their World Cup campaign with a win over Croatia, which was the good news. The less good news is that their most dynamic attacker spent most of that game in a tracksuit. Noni Madueke started on the right in Saka’s place and was fine, but fine isn’t what you want against a Ghana side that will smell blood if England’s attack lacks its usual edge.

Saka rolled into camp with this injury already bothering him. The team has been careful, probably because they know they’ll need him deeper in the tournament. But careful doesn’t help if they need to beat Ghana to avoid a nervous final group game against Panama.

Tuchel is reportedly hopeful Saka can go a full 90 by the time Panama rolls around. That’s a reasonable target if you’re managing a long tournament. It’s less comforting when the next game is Tuesday.

Everyone else is fine, or at least present

Harry Kane and Declan Rice both came out of the Croatia match with some minor knocks, but neither was a concern. Both trained fully on Saturday. Same for Trevoh Chalobah, who only joined the squad after Tino Livramento got hurt in practice. Saturday was his first full session with the group, which means we might actually see him get some minutes at some point.

The training session had a few notable spectators. Players from the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals baseball teams were invited to watch. That’s a nice cross-sport moment, though it’s hard to imagine Saka felt great about doing rehab drills while MLB guys watched from the sideline.

England can lock up a spot in the round of 32 with a win over Ghana. But whether they can do it without a fully fit Saka is the question nobody in camp seems eager to answer out loud.