Thomas Tuchel has defended his decision to pick Alex Scott after the Bournemouth star was forced to withdraw from the England squad with a quad injury aggravated against Croatia.The 23-year-old Bournemouth midfielder made his first start for the Three Lions on Saturday night, having made his debut from the bench against Czechia days before. There are now fears that the Guernsey-born star could be sidelined for a couple of months, a blow for the Cherries who remain winless and 17th in the Premier League. Daily Mail Sport understands the club are frustrated at the development.He impressed for England, playing 70 minutes against Croatia, and Thomas Tuchel described him as playing at the ‘highest level’ – but he was said to be playing through pain from a pre-existing issue in order to represent his country. And on Monday, ahead of the Wembley clash with Czech Republic, Tuchel suggested that England did not take a risk playing him. ‘With Alex, it’s a strange one,’ Tuchel said. ‘I’m very sad about it. Alex trained, both training sessions before the match full against Croatia. He did extra work after the training sessions.’We knew he was in treatment but there were only green lights from himself, from the medics. When we were aware that there was a slight discomfort through the match, we asked him if he wants to come off. He said, “No”.’After the match, he said, “Yeah, OK, it was the right thing to do, but I could have played 90 minutes, I don’t feel an injury”. Even the day after, here before we did the scan, he felt he was not injured. Alex Scott is withdrawing from the England international squad due to a quad injury Thomas Tuchel described Scott as ‘the complete package’ and at the ‘highest level”It’s a strange one because it does not match the objectivity of the scan and the prediction of the time that he is obviously going to miss. It doesn’t match his feelings, and doesn’t match at all the process into the match and during the match.’’I can 100 per cent understand that Bournemouth is not happy and sad because they lose a key player,’ Tuchel added. ‘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.’Tuchel says the England and Bournemouth medical departments have been involved in a ‘totally open process’ over Scott’s fitness and says club have to trust the national team.’I’m not involved in discussions with clubs how to use them,” he added.’I think the players are for two and a half weeks our players and, as much as we trust the clubs to put the players’ health first, I think the clubs have to trust us that we put the players’ health first.’You can see it in our team selections and that will never change, but we are not on the phone to clubs asking for advice because then it would be an empty camp by 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. It is an honour, a pride to play for your country. This is where the focus is.’Scott played on during the international break in honour of his grandfather, who died days before his debut and he described as one of his ‘biggest fans’.’I will always remember this place now. England debut – it’s what dreams are made of,’ Scott told BBC Radio 5 Live. ‘Something that when I was younger, even 15 or 16, wasn’t a reality at all so I’ve worked really hard and it’s a proud moment for me and my family as well.’My partner, she’s been there with me for a good six years so she’s seen everything, my parents are massive for me, my brother growing up [we were] playing football non stop, and my grandad passed away last week.’For him, obviously it was a special thing and it’s a shame that he didn’t see it but he would have been looking down and proud of it. It was tough last week, I found out on camp just before the Spain game, he was the proudest man, he came to all my matches whenever he could and he was my biggest fan.’His withdrawal follows that of Nico O’Reilly, with the full-back returning to Manchester City after picking up a knock. Scott will return to Bournemouth for medical tests instead of potentially playing the Czechs again at Wembley on Tuesday. Scott is a key player for Bournemouth, who only sit 17th in the Premier League It robs him of his latest audition against Chelsea, where Bournemouth travel on Saturday.Xabi Alonso’s club are interested in Scott. Chelsea bid for him at least once in the summer, though sources have claimed the Blues submitted three offers, up to £68million.Scott’s current contract with Bournemouth runs until 2028 and he has so far resisted signing a new deal despite the efforts of those inside the Vitality Stadium.Daily Mail Sport reported last week how Bournemouth sources have told those interested that they will only entertain negotiations for England’s newest international after they have established themselves in the Premier League once again this season.They are also not interested in selling this January.Bournemouth are currently 17th after five games, working under a new head coach in Marco Rose, and juggling Europe for the first time. While winless in the Premier League this term, they won 2-1 away at Real Sociedad in the Europa League, and beat Championship side Lincoln 4-0 in the Carabao Cup. As well as Chelsea, multiple other clubs enquired about Scott in the summer. That included Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City, whose current crisis could deter transfer targets from joining, depending on what happens next in their case.If Bournemouth stand firm on not selling this January, Chelsea may be forced to look at bringing in an alternative midfielder, such as Monaco’s Lamine Camara.His absence is a blow for Bournemouth, who are also missing striker Eli Junior Kroupi.