Jude Bellingham failed to play a minute for England during the recent international break - leaving Real Madrid angry given that their star had only just recovered from an injury
Jude Bellingham was part of England camp but failed to play a single minute
Jude Bellingham was part of this month's England camp
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Real Madrid have been left frustrated by England's handling of Jude Bellingham after they called him into camp - only to leave him on the bench for both games during the international break.
The Three Lions convened for friendlies at Wembley, first with Uruguay and then with Japan. They drew with the South American nation before a shock loss to Japan on Tuesday.
Thomas Tuchel named an expanded 35-man squad for the two games, allowing him to look at more players, but Bellingham was among the major names included. Bellingham has been returning to full fitness following a hamstring injury he picked up in early February and only made a brief cameo off the bench in Real's victory over Atletico Madrid two weeks ago.
Nevertheless he flew back to his homeland to be part of England camp, but failed to play a single minute. Marca report that Real feel that their player returning to England only to sit on the bench and be part of training was 'a pointless trip'.
Los Blancos are in the midst of a La Liga title race, where they trail Barcelona by four points. They're also gearing up for a heavyweight Champions League clash against Bayern Munich, and they want Bellingham firing on all cylinders.
Tuchel admitted that playing Bellingham presented "too much of a risk" as he explained his decision to overlook the midfielder, who has by no means been a guaranteed starter in his England side. He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I think it's too much of a risk. So, the tendency is that he [Bellingham] will not play.
"We have all gained from him being part of it. He was excellent in training, but he was involved as a neutral player. He was involved in not the whole 100 per cent of the training. So, it looked very, very good but we're still holding him back, to not take a risk.
The midfielder has only just returned from an injury lay off
The midfielder has only just returned from an injury layoff
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"The injury is a muscle, it's a very particular one, and we absolutely don't want the re-injury in this moment of the season. And him as well, it was very good that he was in camp. He was excellent. But the tendency is that he won't play."
Madrid believe that Tuchel's decision to snub Bellingham has "done little to help" the midfielder ahead of their upcoming games. Meanwhile, Bellingham's club team-mate. Trent Alexander-Arnold, was afforded some extra rest after being a surprise omission from Tuchel's squad - with there being a genuine possibility he could miss out on the World Cup.
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