Bukayo Saka's Fitness Dilemma Ahead of World Cup

Bukayo Saka knows what it feels like when a stadium shakes for him.

He was at the heart of the mayhem in north London when the Premier League trophy finally came back to that side of the capital after 22 long years. He walked out again on the biggest stage of all in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain, only to watch the night dissolve into penalty-shootout anguish.

For club and country, he has become a reference point. When he is fit, Mikel Arteta builds around him. England, too, see him as a pillar of their attacking play.

But that “when” is starting to loom large.

England’s dilemma on the right

Saka has carried a long-standing Achilles issue into this World Cup, a problem that keeps flaring just when he seems ready to run free again. England’s campaign opened without him in the XI, the Arsenal star taking a seat on the bench as Noni Madueke started on the right wing against Croatia.

He has not taken a full part in training since, ahead of Tuesday’s meeting with Ghana. While his team-mates worked on the grass over the weekend, Saka stayed indoors, following an individual programme and staying on the cautious side of risk.

That leaves Thomas Tuchel with a delicate calculation: trust the proven match-winner who is short of full fitness, or stick with the sharp, fully fit challenger who has the shirt?

John Barnes, who knows the demands of international tournament football out wide better than most, believes the answer is simple: Saka’s body will decide it.

Speaking to GOAL in association with viagogo’s ‘World Cuts’ campaign, Barnes said: “It's his fitness. I mean, his form has been great for Arsenal, but it's his fitness.

“Madueke is fit, so therefore he may be ahead of him at that particular moment in time. So, obviously, Thomas Tuchel will know how fit he is, how much he can influence games. We know the quality he actually has, so I think it's really just down to his fitness.”

Barnes didn’t pretend to have the medical report in front of him. “I don't know how fit he is, how many games he's had, whether Madueke is ahead of him,” he added. “From a form perspective or a quality perspective, we can see what he can do. So I think his fitness is the biggest issue as to whether he starts for England or not.”

Goals, numbers – and what really matters

Injuries clipped Saka’s wings last season. He still reached 11 goals in all competitions, but only seven came in the Premier League. For a wide forward of his calibre, that tally invites scrutiny.

Barnes, though, brushed aside any suggestion that Saka’s goal column should define him.

“His goal output doesn't have to be great if they win the league,” he said. “And if England wins the World Cup, he doesn't score one goal, it's not important. What's important is him being part of a team that can win.”

The former England winger went straight to the heart of Tuchel’s philosophy.

“Once again, I don't think Thomas Tuchel is looking at individual numbers because if he scores more and Marcus Rashford scores more, you know what that means? Harry Kane will score less.

“So it's about the way you play to create for other people to score. I don't think he'll worry about his goal-scoring form, because it's not about the individual and what he does. If he can be part of a team and help that team to win, then I'm sure his lack of goals isn't going to be an issue.”

For Barnes, Saka’s value lies in the collective rhythm he helps create, not the headline statistic next to his name.

“It's to do with how the team performs, to create chances for maybe Jude Bellingham and for Harry Kane to score, for them to work hard as a team, to be creative, and yes, they may score the odd goal,” he said. “So he's looking at the way the team plays, rather than how any individual performs, Thomas Tuchel, which is the right thing to do.”

Tuchel’s tightrope

Tuchel has already promised to handle Saka with care. England want to be in North America for the long haul, not limping out early with one of their most gifted players broken by overuse.

Against Croatia, the German coach waited, then unleashed him from the bench. Saka responded with exactly what England expect: direct running, clean decisions, and a decisive touch in the move that ended with Marcus Rashford sealing a 4-2 win.

“Bukayo is ready and will get more and more ready,” Tuchel said afterwards. “I think once we go to the last game of this group he will be ready.”

That last group game comes against Panama on Saturday. Before then, Ghana stand in the way, and Saka’s status remains the lingering question around the camp.

He was the only player missing from that recent group session, the only one working alone indoors while Tuchel drilled his outfield structure under the sun. For a manager who insists he will not take “unnecessary risks”, the message is clear: England will not rush him just to prove a point.

Saka has already lived the extremes of the modern game: title parades, European finals, shootout scars. Now the story hinges on something far more mundane – an Achilles tendon that has to hold if he is to light up another tournament.

England know exactly what he can do. The real issue is whether his body will let him do it when it matters most.