England coach confirms Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham suffered minor knock vs Czech Republic: ‘Had a little niggle’ | OneFootball

Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham picked up a minor knock while on England duty, with Thomas Tuchel hopeful that it will not prevent him from facing Croatia.

Bellingham came off the bench in England’s 2-0 win over Czech Republic on Tuesday, replacing Harry Kane in the 71st minute. 

He took the captain’s armband for the closing stages but felt a problem towards the end of the match.

Tuchel confirmed the issue after the game, stating, “He had a little niggle at the end of the match. Hopefully it is nothing serious and he is available for Croatia,” said the England coach, as per ESPN.

The 23-year-old’s condition will therefore be watched ahead of England’s next fixture.

Tuchel sees Bellingham as a genuine No.9 option

Bellingham suffered a minor knock. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

The injury concern comes as Tuchel continues to experiment with Bellingham’s role in the England attack.

Kane remains England’s undisputed first-choice striker and scored again in the victory over Czech Republic, although with limited options behind him, Tuchel has started looking at different ways to use Bellingham closer to goal.

“You will not get another Harry Kane, first of all. We look for different solutions. We finished the game with Jude as a No 9. 

“There will be someone else, but it will not be Harry or a copy of Harry. We will find a solution when it comes to it, but maybe not me. It might be another 10 years.”

Bellingham’s ability to arrive in the box has made the idea attractive to Tuchel, who believes the Real Madrid midfielder can influence the game from several attacking positions.

Bellingham captained England against Czech Republic. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

“I like him as a [No] 9. Then he can contribute to both sides and overloads the sides and doesn’t affect so much of the balance. 

“We found a bit of a new role for him in the last match, as a central [No] 10, so he can go to both sides and it is more of a 4-2-3-1 than a 4-3-3 to have Harry and Jude closer together and to give them a chance to overload both sides.

“We are working on that. Jude in general should always be able to go through the last line and be able to end up in the box. 

“He is a natural goalscorer and has the hunger to be on the scoreboard. He wants to have the decisive action, so it makes no huge difference if he plays as a [No] 9 or a [No] 10,” he concluded.