Bournemouth unhappy after Alex Scott’s thigh injury; Tuchel says England took ‘zero risk’
Alex Scott was withdrawn with a thigh injury after playing in England’s 7-0 Nations League win over Croatia in Rijeka on Saturday, a development that has left Bournemouth unhappy while England head coach Thomas Tuchel insisted his staff had taken “zero risk.” Tuchel said Scott would play no further part in this international break and could be sidelined for up to two months.
Scott had felt discomfort before the Croatia match but played through the pain and was due to start again when England host Czechia in their fourth and final game of this camp on Tuesday; he was replaced by James Garner after 70 minutes and underwent tests on Sunday. Bournemouth, who are also without the French forward Eli Junior Kroupi, face the possibility of losing one of their key players as they seek a first Premier League win and continue in the Europa League.
Tuchel defended England’s handling of Scott, saying the midfielder had trained in full before the Croatia game and had done “extra work after the training sessions.” He added: “We knew he was in treatment but there were only green lights from him and the medics. When we were aware there was slight discomfort during the match and asked if he wanted to come off he said no. After the match, he said he could have played 90 minutes and didn’t feel an injury. Even before the scan he didn’t feel injured so it’s a strange one. There was zero risk taken from our side. On a human level, I feel bad that he has not the next cap tomorrow.”
Asked if he had a clear conscience about the decision to play Scott, Tuchel replied: “Yeah, 100%. I would not have taken any risk.” He also outlined the communication between England and clubs, saying: “The medical and physical department is in constant contact. We are sharing information and this is a totally open process. We are not on the phone to clubs asking for advice because then it would be an empty camp.”
The squad has suffered further absences during the camp: Arsenal defender Ezri Konsa has a quad injury and Trevoh Chalobah is likely to replace him, while Manchester City left-back Nico O’Reilly was lost and his place taken by Rico Lewis. Declan Rice and Kobbie Mainoo withdrew at the start of the camp, leaving Tuchel with Elliot Anderson, Garner and Myles Lewis-Skelly among his midfield options for the Czechia game.
Scott’s decision to remain with the England squad after the recent death of his grandfather was noted by Tuchel; the former Bristol City midfielder, who is reported as a target for Chelsea, made his England debut as a substitute in the win over Czechia in Prague last week and won a starting place against Croatia, renewing his midfield partnership with Elliot Anderson from last year’s Under-21 European Championship.
Tuchel also commented on wider issues around the international calendar, questioning Fifa’s decision to extend this window and describing the format as testing because of travel and condensed training time after the 48-team World Cup. He praised Harry Kane ahead of the Czechia match, saying: “I’m not sure I have any more words. He’s on the shortlist for the Ballon d’Or. We’ve spoken so often about him and I try to find new words which then make no sense. Everything he does, he does it on the highest level. Since he took this major role for Bayern Munich, he found a new level. It’s the highest level, on and off the pitch.”
England are second in Nations League Group A3 and are well placed to reach the March two-leg quarter-finals; they host Czechia on Tuesday and have fixtures against Croatia and Spain in their final two Group A3 games next month, with Scott reported as unlikely to be unavailable for those matches.