Bournemouth Lose Alex Scott for Two Months and Blame England Handling

Bournemouth's winless start to the season has been dealt its biggest blow yet. Alex Scott is expected to miss six to eight weeks with the quadriceps injury he carried into England's Nations League win over Croatia, a layoff that will swallow the next nine games — including the EFL Cup fourth-round tie against Aston Villa.

The strange one

Thomas Tuchel called the injury “a strange one”. Scott felt the issue before the 7-0 win in Rijeka, played 70 minutes on his full debut in central midfield alongside Elliot Anderson, and told England's staff after the match he could have completed the full 90. “There were only green lights from him and the medics,” Tuchel said. “There was zero risk taken from our side.” The scan told a different story.

Privately, Bournemouth see it differently. Sources close to the club describe frustration at how their midfielder was managed once England knew he was nursing a thigh problem, and the 23-year-old has now withdrawn from the squad for Tuesday's meeting with Czechia at Wembley.

Nine games without him

The timing could hardly be worse. Between 10 October and 8 November, Bournemouth are due to play every midweek and weekend: Premier League trips to Chelsea, plus Sunderland, Manchester United, Leeds and Ipswich, a Europa League run that has already taken in Real Sociedad, and Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup. Scott joins Eli Junior Kroupi, unavailable since a pre-season foot problem, on a list that is thin for a side with this much football to play.

Marco Rose's team sit 17th with three draws and two defeats, though the cup win over Lincoln and the victory in San Sebastian offered encouragement. Without Scott's mobility in the centre, the nine-game stretch now looks like an endurance test — and Bournemouth's quiet anger at England suggests they feel it was avoidable.