Thomas Tuchel vows to be ‘very careful’ with Jude Bellingham after lengthy injury layoff | OneFootball

England boss Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that no risks will be taken with Jude Bellingham’s fitness following the Real Madrid star’s inclusion in the national squad as he recovers from a hamstring injury.

The midfielder, who was visibly distressed after sustaining the injury during Real Madrid’s 2-1 LaLiga victory over Rayo Vallecano on 1 February, has yet to return to competitive action.

Bellingham watched from the stands as his club side overcame Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday, but was nevertheless named in England’s 35-man squad three days later.

Tuchel emphasised the importance of having the midfielder in the final camp before the World Cup, while also managing expectations ahead of upcoming friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.

"Everyone had the same interest, which is not always the case," Tuchel stated. "But in this case, we all had the same interest.

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Tuchel said he will not take any risks with Bellingham (Bradmey Collyer/PA) (PA Wire)

“I wanted Jude to be in camp, Jude wanted to be in camp and Real Madrid is happy for him to come to camp because we can provide, basically, team training for him, which is a bit difficult because Real Madrid is just like on the international break."

He added: "We can provide that, so all boxes are ticked. I think it was very important to get the expectations right – it is maybe also very important to get your expectations right (in the media) about Jude in this camp."

Tuchel assured that Bellingham’s recovery would be handled with extreme caution.

"We will continue his progress in integration into team training. We will be very careful and not take any risk with Jude regarding a risk of re-injury.

“It’s a very rare injury for him to have a muscle injury, so he’s not experienced in it, so we will be very, very careful with it and not take any risk."

The England boss concluded by outlining the most optimistic scenario: "The best case scenario is that he gets some minutes against Japan. That is the framework and then we will adapt from day to day."