Thomas Tuchel's baptism of fire: 'Work from home' scrutiny, injuries & out-of-sorts stars mean problems are mounting for new England manager

Tuchel might not have managed his first England game, but already there is a sense that some sections of the media have turned on him or are attempting to incite some sort of movement against him. More than a month short of his debut on the touchline at Wembley, the 51-year-old recently came under scrutiny for returning to Germany to visit his children and therefore 'missing' games where he might usually be in attendance to assess his options.

The word at the time was that he had missed three Premier League game weeks, as well as Carabao Cup and FA Cup ties, having already been allowed to delay his start date until January 1 - disregarding the near-certainty that the meticulous tactician would have been watching on from afar, and the fact that he was showing up at matches in December.

The role of England manager has long been labelled 'the toughest job in football', and the reasons for that transcend lofty on-field expectations.

Such has been the extent of the criticism, with various outlets and pundits joining the pile-on and fuelling the furore, the Football Association (FA) has even been forced to step in to defend their new manager - pointing to the fact he still attended 17 matches in 47 days and has a base in London as well as in Germany. The point is made even more moot by the fact that European Championship-winning Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman has achieved unprecedented success despite commuting from her family home in the Netherlands.

An FA statement to The Times read: "Thomas has attended 17 matches - in England and abroad - to watch English players since he joined in January, and is working full-time to assess players for his first squad announcement next month."

Tuchel had even been open about his working pattern in his first press conference back in October: "I love to live in England and I’m looking forward to living again in England," he said. "I want to be close to the Premier League, I want to be close to the majority of the players. But of course, the schedule will allow me to be close to my family and my children in Germany. But yeah, I will be in England most of the time."

It's not just off the field that Tuchel is facing early problems; in terms of personnel on it, his options are significantly depleted as he prepares to name the first England squad of his tenure.

The new manager will be without senior centre-back John Stones after he suffered an awkward injury against Real Madrid which will keep him out for at least two months, while hapless Luke Shaw suffered a setback recently and surely won't be considered. Further up the pitch, Kobbie Mainoo - who is arguably the Three Lions' outstanding central-midfield option alongside Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham - has been ruled out until after the March international break, while recent call-up Angel Gomes is working his way back from a calf problem.

In attack, star winger Bukayo Saka is sidelined after hamstring surgery, as is newly-established senior international Noni Madueke, while Dominic Solanke has not yet recovered from a knee issue that has kept him out since mid-January.

Of course, England are still blessed with plenty more talent among this exciting generation, but Tuchel is going to need all his managerial nous to piece together the first line-ups of his time in charge.

Injuries won't be Tuchel's only concern, however; as he prepares to put pen to paper to draw up his first squad, he must surely have a sense that - other than usual suspects Harry Kane and Bellingham - a number of his key players are approaching the break somewhat out of sorts.

There will be serious doubts over whether Kyle Walker keeps his place after a torrid half-season at Manchester City before he departed for AC Milan; his former team-mate Rico Lewis has struggled to maintain the high standards he set in his breakout campaign; Jack Grealish seems to have lost Pep Guardiola's faith entirely.

Harry Maguire has allowed some errors to creep back into his game at Manchester United after a much-improved period; attacking midfielders Cole Palmer and Phil Foden have both toiled in recent weeks and look well short of their best; Conor Gallagher has been used strangely sparingly by Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid of late.

This all contributes to sense that - aside from the new manager - this will not be the most compelling, exciting England squad as a host of big names scratch around for some form. Tuchel will have to find away to make them click across two games, as he will be expected to collect six points to avoid more negative press.

Bellingham's performances for Real Madrid this season certainly won't be a concern to Tuchel, with the 21-year-old likely to be a lynchpin of his team, but is his discipline becoming a problem?

The midfielder has already landed himself in hot water on numerous occasions despite his career being in its infancy, with his latest outburst at a referee in February resulting in a red card and La Liga ban amid a bizarre and frenzied debate over the offensiveness of saying 'f*ck off' as opposed to 'f*ck you'. That was already the second time in his Blancos career that he has seen red for swearing at an official.

In an England shirt, Bellingham almost cost his country at Euro 2024 as UEFA investigated a lewd crotch-grab gesture he made during wild celebrations following his outrageous last-ditch equaliser against Slovakia in the last 16, but ultimately he escaped a ban and was instead fined.

Southgate's laissez-fair approach to the precocious talent was reflected in his stance on that incident: "I haven’t spoken with him. I think it’s a common-sense decision," he said. "Clearly it’s an unprecedented moment in someone’s life to score a goal like that in the 96th minute. I’m just so mindful of everything he's achieving and at that age – or any age – nobody is going to be perfect. You are at times going to react emotionally, and without that emotion I don’t think you have the type of player he is. I think he deals with everything so well."

Bellingham's hot-headedness is a core part of what makes him so good - a burning desire to win at all costs and take on anyone who gets in his way - but he plays right on the edge, so it will be interesting to see whether Tuchel is equally hands-off or opts to rein his star man in.

Of course, it's not all doom and gloom, with plenty of reasons to be excited for the dawn of a new era under a Champions League, Bundesliga and Ligue 1-winning manager who has proven himself to be a cup specialist.

One significant positive is Ben White's potential return to the fold for the first time since the 2022 World Cup, after a self-imposed exile following a mysterious falling-out with Southgate's backroom team. The Arsenal defender is said to have held talks with Tuchel, and there should now be no obstacles in the way of a player who could solve a problem at both right-back and centre-back.

Although it is early days, Manchester United outcast Marcus Rashford looks capable of recapturing his best form on loan at Aston Villa. It has been reported that Tuchel has met with him, and the attacker could provide much-needed depth in the wide areas amid the injuries to Saka and Madueke and middling form of Palmer and Foden, and a refresh at international level could help him reignite his England career.

Unless Tuchel has other ideas, we should also get a glimpse of Kane's potential long-term successor in action for the senior side for the first time. Liam Delap has rattled in 10 league goals for relegation-threatened Ipswich and his debut is sure to generate excitement amid speculation surrounding which big club will snap him up first. Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Gittens is another exciting attacking talent who could be in line for a senior call-up.

Meanwhile, Tottenham's James Maddison, who is arguably one of the country's most technically-gifted creative players at present, has also revealed he has spoken to the new Three Lions boss about a potential recall.

Ultimately, Tuchel may have to get creative to overcome some of the problems he faces, perhaps following in interim predecessor Lee Carsley's footsteps by experimenting with his first squad.

Opening matches against two beatable opponents in Albania and Latvia should certainly allow for some creative license in terms of personnel and formation, and given England's problems, perhaps the games will offer a window into what the next 14 months hold in the build-up to the World Cup, rather than a definitive picture of the German's immediate plans.

Off the field, Tuchel showed on numerous occasions during his time at Chelsea just how adept he is at handling media scrutiny and navigating difficult situations as the face of an institution, most notably during Roman Abramovich's messy sale of the club in 2022.

The newly-appointed England boss is already facing significant challenges on and off the pitch, but now is the time to demonstrate just how well he can handle that adversity to silence his early doubters.