Thomas Tuchel has insisted his “conscience is clear” as he faces backlash from Premier League bosses over injuries sustained during England's Nations League campaign. Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott could be out for two months after playing with a tendon injury against Croatia on Saturday, but Tuchel said he took “zero risk.”
Ezri Konsa has also returned to Arsenal after playing against Croatia despite feeling “discomfort” throughout the Nations League campaign. Nico O’Reilly also left the camp because of injury, and it is understood that Bournemouth were well aware that Scott had an issue—but England still played him. Scott was also desperate to play.
Tuchel defends decision-making
The demanding fixture list of four games in 11 days in this Nations League has left the England boss in the firing line, and he says he can understand why Bournemouth are upset over Scott. But when asked whether his conscience is clear, Tuchel said: “Yes, 100 per cent.
“There was zero risk-taking from our side, no awareness that there's any risk that something could happen like this. It's kind of a one-off. A strange one.
“Alex trained, both training sessions, before the match against Croatia fully. He did extra work after the training sessions. We knew that he was in treatment. But there were only green lights from himself, from the medics.
“When we asked him, when we were aware, that there is a slight discomfort throughout the match, we asked him if he wants to come off, he said no. After the match he said 'okay, was the right thing to do, but I could have played 90 minutes, I don't feel an injury.'
“And even on the day after, here before we did the scan, he felt that he's not injured. So it's a strange one. I can 100 percent understand that Bournemouth is not happy, and is sad, because they lose a key player.
“I can just say, from the moment that we took the decision to let him play, there was absolutely no risk whatsoever apparent to me or to our physical staff, that there was a risk of an injury. He finished both training sessions, he did individual work after the training sessions, it's a one off.”
Konsa's fitness concerns
Arsenal are also sweating on Konsa ahead of their return to Premier League action with Leeds on Saturday and a Champions League tie with Lille. They are already without William Saliba in defence while Kai Havertz and Christos Tzolis have suffered injuries in this window.
Tuchel added: “Ezri felt discomfort when he came into camp, played with discomfort against Spain, and it got a bit worse, so he stayed in camp and tried everything for the match in Czechia, that came too soon.
“Then he tried everything for the match in Croatia, and gave a green light, finished all the training sessions in between, and was ready to play.
“Unfortunately he got another hit on the quad, that caused a little bit of light trauma, and we decided to not let him play through this pain and discomfort again. So he left camp to get treatment for both his issues now.
“But I think nothing major. Not worth the risk-taking. We were happy with the attitude that he showed to stay in camp and be ready for Croatia and have a good match. But unfortunately, like I said, he picked up another one in the match. But from a knock, not a muscle injury.”
Tuchel calls for longer international window
Tuchel says the FA medics have been in touch with the clubs while the England boss would also want to see this international window—and it is in place in the calendar for the next four years—extended so nations do not have such short recovery time after the third round of games.
Tuchel added: “I think the players are for two and a half weeks our players. As much as we trust the clubs to put the players' health first, I think the clubs have to trust and trust us that we put the players' health first. And we can see it in our team selections. And that will never change.
“We are not on the phone to clubs asking for our advice, because then it would be an empty camp right now. It's four matches for us, and this is the most important thing for these two and a half weeks, these four matches matter more than anything else.”
