Rice told BBC Sport: "Ben is such a good guy and he is an unbelievable footballer.
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"It is hard to know really what is going on but he has made his decision and he doesn't want to play for England at this moment in time."
Rice added: "Playing for England is the greatest honour you could ever have.
"Ben has the quality to play anywhere and when you have a player like that it is really key.
"Hopefully he changes his mind," Rice added. "But if he's happy doing that, that's Ben's decision."