Rice and Saka have returned to their club without kicking a ball for England after reporting for duty to watch last Friday’s draw with Uruguay.
But both players left camp over the weekend along with club mate Noni Madueke, who was injured during the Uruguay game.
“Everyone can do the math and it’s a lot of players, of course. During the situation, it looks a bit suspicious but I can only talk for our players,” he said.
“I still have 100% trust in the honesty of Bukayo and Declan. We did medical tests. I saw them. I have no reason to believe that Declan is not honest with me.
Worryingly for Arsenal and manager Mikel Arteta, Tuchel revealed that Madueke will be out for a while and hinted that Saka and Rice may face a battle to be fit for the Champions League clash.
“Declan feels a discomfort since quite a while, and he’s playing through it, and he’s just now on the edge. It’s the same with Bukayo.
“You can see it and he confirmed it straight away. He tried with treatment in the three days to get rid of it and be ready but it’s just too much of pain.”
Eleven Arsenal players pulled out of international duty. The optics are undeniable. And Tuchel admitted it: “It looks a bit suspicious.”
But he trusts Rice. He trusts Saka. And with a Champions League quarter-final looming, Arsenal fans will be hoping his trust is well placed and that their stars are back in time for Lisbon.