England manager not willing to “take risks” as midfielder continues to recover from muscle problem
Real Madrid have been handed a boost after England manager Thomas Tuchel decided not to risk Jude Bellingham during the current international window.
The midfielder will not feature in England’s friendly against Japan at Wembley on Tuesday, meaning he will end the international window without playing a single minute. He was also left out of the matchday squad for Friday’s 1-1 draw with Uruguay.
Tuchel made it clear the decision was based on protecting the 22-year-old, who is still recovering from a recent muscle injury.
“We will not take risks with Jude because he is coming off a muscle injury and you never know what might happen,” Tuchel said.
He added: “We have all gained from him being part of it. He was excellent in training, but he was involved as a neutral player. He was involved in not the whole 100 per cent of the training.
“So, it looked very, very good but we’re still holding him back, to not take a risk. The injury is a muscle, it’s a very particular one, and we absolutely don’t want the re-injury in this moment of the season.
“And him as well, it was very good that he was in camp. He was excellent. But the tendency is that he won’t play.”
Bellingham has been managing a hamstring problem sustained in February against Rayo Vallecano. He recently returned to action with a brief appearance as a sub in the Spanish capital derby victory over Atletico Madrid, but has yet to regain full match fitness.
