England manager Thomas Tuchel has defended his decision to omit Jude Bellingham from the Three Lions squad for the upcoming fixtures against Wales and Latvia.
Bellingham, who returned from a shoulder injury to feature for Real Madrid last week, was expected to be recalled. But Tuchel chose to keep the same group that impressed in the last international break.
“He [Bellingham] is a special player and for special players there can always be special rules,” Tuchel said. “But we decided to keep with the straightforward decision of inviting the same group. He wanted to be called up. We had a phone call. Not an awkward conversation.”
Tuchel stressed that Bellingham “always deserves to be here” but has yet to regain full rhythm in Spain. He added that other players, including Phil Foden and Adam Wharton, also merited recognition.