Jose Mourinho denies asking Zinedine Zidane to omit Aurelien Tchouameni from France squad | OneFootball

Jose Mourinho has denied having any role in Zinedine Zidane’s decision to omit Aurelien Tchouameni from the France squad, saying he was surprised but supports the plan for the midfielder to recover from a groin problem.

Goal.com reports that Zidane left the Real Madrid midfielder out of his first France squad for four upcoming matches. Tchouameni has been managing a groin issue and has played only three times this season, with one start in the 3-2 defeat to Elche.

Speaking before the Madrid derby on Saturday, the Real head coach said the club had not asked France to excuse the player from duty.

“I had no influence on the decision. I didn't call Zidane and Zidane didn't call me. It took me by surprise. But they (Zidane and Tchouameni) discussed and agreed that the best thing for him was to use this break to do the pre-season he couldn't do.”

“The national team manager let him know that he was counting on him for the future and they agreed on this decision which, for us, is a privilege. Because after the derby, he will have his days off and will be able to come back stronger.”

After Sunday’s derby, Madrid do not play again until 10 October against Villarreal, then face Roma in the Champions League four days later. The gap should give Tchouameni time to heal fully and push to establish himself under Mourinho.

Source: Goal.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”