Thomas Tuchel addresses Jude Bellingham injury amid warning for England stars | OneFootball

Three Lions boss delighted at how his squad respond to call-ups amid ongoing fitness and schedule concerns

Thomas Tuchel believes Jude Bellingham may have been playing through his persistent shoulder injury for “way too long”.

The midfielder is then expected to compete at the Club World Cup with Real Madrid before undergoing surgery on the injury, which was caused in 2023 by a shoulder dislocation and has seen him wear a strapping under his shirt for more than a year.

Bellingham has been a key player for Real Madrid this season, despite their failure to win the Liga title, registering 28 goal contributions in 51 matches in all competitions for Los Blancos.

Asked whether Bellingham was always planning to join up with the squad, Tuchel said: “He always wants to come. They all want to come.

“I want to be very clear about this: not one single player has told me, ‘Ah, can I just come for the first match, because I have the Club World Cup?’ or ‘Can I be left out completely because I’ve played so much?’. Not one. Everyone I told was: ‘No, no, no, I come. I want to come. It's an honour to come.

Jude Bellingham will undergo surgery later in the summer

The FA via Getty Images

“Jude always wants to come. He has played for many months — way too long, maybe — with this issue. He plays with this huge shoulder strap under his shirt.

Asked if it would be unwise, just a year out from the World Cup in North America, for players to be pulling out of squads they do not need to miss, Tuchel curtly agreed: “Very unwise.”

Meanwhile, Phil Foden asked to discuss the possibility of a break with England’s medical staff, before Tuchel ultimately made the decision to leave him out of his June squad.

Tuchel said he had failed to “translate” his form in training into games.

Foden has struggled for form for Manchester City this season and has confirmed struggles in his private life have played their part.

“No, no,” Tuchel said when asked whether Foden had asked for a rest and to be left out of the squad.

I loved him in training; he was fantastic, but he could not translate it into the matches

Thomas Tuchel on Phil Foden

“It is very important. He said: ‘I said that I wanted to speak to the club and speak to the FA and to the coaches about what they think is best for me, and give them the full picture’.

“With Phil, it is a mix between the performances since camp and his — not injury, but — discomfort with his ankle. He keeps complaining that it keeps holding him back.”

Tuchel added: “Let’s be honest, even before the first camp [in March], he was not in his best shape. He had not the impact at Man City, he had not the freedom in his game that he wishes for.

“We still picked him. I loved him as a person in camp. I was very positively surprised how he interacted and how he was. So we felt that he was very comfortable in camp and he expressed himself. He was open, he was funny. I loved him in training; he was fantastic. But even in the first camp, he could not translate it, he could not transport it into the matches.

“It got a bit worse then, after that even, in the club. It seems to be stuck, it seems to be not falling into place for him. So he has not minutes. He is not involved in goals, chances. And considering all these points, together with the fact that he is still complaining about his ankle, I said I will look at other players.

“He knows that I love him, but it is the moment maybe that it helps you now to take a breath and get fully fit for the Club World Cup.”