England manager Thomas Tuchel said on Monday he was not disappointed by players withdrawing from his squad ahead of the friendly against Japan at Wembley.
Tuchel said the absences were an inevitable consequence of heavy workloads late in the club season.
After their 1-1 draw with Uruguay in a friendly on Friday, eight players left the camp due to health and injury issues.
Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, defender Fikayo Tomori and striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin were among those to leave. Defender John Stones returned to Manchester City after sustaining an injury prior to Friday's match, while Adam Wharton of Crystal Palace and Arsenal winger Noni Madueke were injured during the game.
Madueke's Arsenal teammates Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka have also returned to the North London club.
Tuchel said Rice and Saka were desperate to play for England but felt the risk of the Arsenal duo aggravating injuries was "way too big" at this stage of the season.
The German coach picked an expanded 35-man squad for the final camp before making his Fifa World Cup selection.
Rice and Saka were among the late arrivals but were among the injury withdrawals the following day.
There were suspicions of players prioritising club over country but Tuchel dismissed such talk.
"They joined, had a medical assessment, wanted desperately to play, to just get the narrative straight," the England coach said of Rice and Saka. "Wanted desperately to be involved.
"But it made just no sense to take this risk. If it would have been maybe a last game of the season, we would have kept them and tried everything. But in this moment of the season, it did not make sense.
"The risk for making it worse was just way too big. They were both clearly in discomfort when we did the medical assessment, so it made absolutely no sense that they stayed."
Tuchel said the withdrawals were understandable, even if uncomfortable.
"Disappointed but not with the players, with the fact we want to have everyone in good spirits and health," Tuchel added. "It's the reality of end of the season and the end March, the reality of having players in European matches and more than just one competition with all the cups going on.
"We have players in camp that have already played more minutes than last season, so there is some concern. The players needed and deserved the mental break from football. We could see the energy with which they came back into camp and to reconnect now in the new environment.
"We want them to perform in their clubs but the reality is it's our last camp before we leave to America, so we want to reconnect to our principles. It's disappointing but I'm not upset with the players, I'm not angry.
"I got the feeling that everyone was desperate to come. Some of the injured players even stayed to do their treatment, that shows they want to be around the group. No one left straight away, it's a good spirit and that's how it should be."
