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Bukayo Saka has emerged as one of England's key players over the past few seasons.
The Arsenal winger has featured in every major tournament game that the Three Lions have contested since the Euro 2020 semi-final against Denmark, while he was one of his country's standout performers at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, scoring three goals.
That is why England head coach Thomas Tuchel will be desperate to have Saka, 24, fit and firing by the time his side begin their World Cup 2026 campaign against Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday, June 17.
Is Bukayo Saka fit for the 2026 World Cup?
Saka had a bittersweet end to the domestic season, with his involvement in clinching Arsenal's first Premier League title since 2004 limited by an Achilles injury which meant he has completed 90 minutes just once since March.
The forward was also part of the Gunners side that lost the Champions League final to Paris Saint-Germain on May 30, which saw him and his three Arsenal team-mates in the England squad - Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke - join Tuchel's World Cup camp only on Saturday evening.
The quartet met up with the squad after the Three Lions' 1-0 win over New Zealand in their first warm-up match, with the second and final friendly taking place against Costa Rica on Wednesday evening.
Speaking ahead of the game in Orlando, Tuchel confirmed that Saka had trained with the squad but is still not fully fit.
"We still have to take a little bit of care for Bukayo, who had an injury in March and carried it through the club campaign," he told a news conference.
"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.
"We just came from training, and everyone was involved, including Bukayo."
Saka has scored 14 goals in 48 appearances for England, although he has not played for his country since November after pulling out of the friendlies against Uruguay and Japan in March as a result of his Achilles issue.
It remains to be seen whether he will win his 49th cap tonight, with Tuchel expected to name a starting XI that more closely resembles the lineup that will begin the Group L opener against Croatia.
England then play Ghana in Boston on Tuesday, June 23, before rounding off the group against Panama in New Jersey on Saturday, June 27.
