Alex Scott Faces Up to Eight Weeks Out as Tuchel Defends England Over 'Strange' Injury

LONDON — Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott could be out for up to eight weeks with a thigh injury, and the club is unhappy with the way it believes England handled the problem, BBC Sport reported on Monday. England manager Thomas Tuchel insisted "there was zero risk taken."

Scott has withdrawn from the squad for Tuesday's Nations League match against Czechia. The 23-year-old felt the issue before Saturday's 7-0 win over Croatia but played 70 minutes in central midfield alongside Elliot Anderson, according to BBC Sport.

'A strange one'

"With Alex, it's a strange one, I'm very sad about it," Tuchel told a news conference on Monday. "He trained in full before Croatia, did extra work after the training sessions, we knew he was in treatment but there were only green lights from him and the medics."

Tuchel said Scott declined to come off when asked during the match and said afterwards that he could have played 90 minutes. "Even before the scan he didn't feel injured, so it's a strange one," he said.

The Independent reported that Tuchel had intended to start Scott against Czechia, but minor pre-match discomfort developed into a lay-off that is set to rule him out of Bournemouth's domestic and European fixtures and England's November internationals.

'Clubs have to trust us'

"I can 100 per cent understand that Bournemouth is not happy and sad because they lose a key player," Tuchel said, according to The Independent. "But I can just say from the moment we took the decision to let him play, there was absolutely no risk whatsoever apparent to me or our physical staff that we have a risk of an injury."

He described communication between the England and Bournemouth medical teams as a "totally open process" and said that, just as England trust clubs to put players' health first, "the clubs have to trust us."

Scott made his England debut as a substitute in last week's 2-0 win in Czechia before impressing on his first start against Croatia.

Defender Ezri Konsa also left the camp on Monday after a blow against Croatia aggravated an existing issue, although Tuchel expects it is "nothing major," The Independent said. Five players had already pulled out at the start of the extended international break, BBC Sport reported.

"I can assure everyone that player welfare is priority number one," Tuchel said.

Sources: BBC Sport; The Independent