England manager Thomas Tuchel explained the absence of Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham from his squad. The expectation was that the England mainstay would make an immediate return after his shoulder surgery but Tuchel said that he got on a phone call with him and explained the situation.
“I understand the focus on Jude, he is a special player and for special players there can always be special rules, I get this. But for this camp we decided that we stick with our straightforward decision to invite the same team. That applies also to Jude. He deserves always to be in camp,” said Tuchel at a press conference.
He then said that lack of game time was why Bellingham hadn’t made a return to the squad.
“I think there is an extra layer on top of it, the situation that he has not gathered fully rhythm yet at Real Madrid. He is back in the team, he hasn’t finished one full match until now, he has only started one match. He is at the moment in the period where he gets his rhythm, where he gets back to full strength. There is this extra layer to the decision. The decision stayed for this camp. He wanted to be called up, We had a phone call. There was no issue from that side. He just lacks rhythm, he hasn’t finished a match, like I said,” said Tuchel.
The German was also asked about the exclusion of Jack Grealish and Phil Foden. Grealish, who left Manchester City for a loan spell at Everton, has become a focal point at his new club and those performances have raised questions on whether a return to the England squad is warranted.
“There is no problem also between me and Phil Foden, between me and Jack Grealish. Special players back to influencing games. Jack is very close to being back to the best version of himself – very special player, very special character. There is no problem. There is no personal problem,” explained Tuchel.
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