Jude Bellingham has received public support from one of his Real Madrid teammates after being left out of Thomas Tuchel's England squad in October.
The Three Lions enjoyed comprehensive wins over Wales and Latvia during the break, sealing their spot at next summer's World Cup in the process.
But Bellingham was left out, having only recently returned to action after a long stint on the sidelines with a shoulder injury.
Tuchel has denied all rumours of Bellingham being dropped, citing him as a big player in the England camp and suggesting that the two will hold talks ahead of the November international break.
But one player who has no doubts over Bellingham's role in the England side is Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who believes the 22-year-old "has to play" at the World Cup next summer.
"I don't think we can imagine England without Jude," Courtois said. "He should be in the England squad, definitely. He has to play.
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"He hasn't had so many minutes so for England and Real Madrid it is better that he is training and getting that extra physical work.
"Now we have a couple of tough games and hopefully he will help because he is an amazing player. He is one of our best players.
"I don't know if Tuchel has called him or not. But I'm sure that even in November he will be back in the England squad. You want a player like Jude in the squad."
The Belgian added that his recovery from a recurring shoulder injury has likely taken its toll, but believes Bellingham will be back to optimum fitness very soon.
"He has had a long injury of four months so you cannot force them to go too fast," he said.
"If you do then you can get muscle injuries and have a few weeks out and then if it happens again you can have another few weeks out. You need to have optimum fitness and then it will be okay."
Bellingham will be back in action for Madrid as they take on Getafe on Sunday (October 19), while Tuchel will certainly have his eyes on the England international as Los Blancos gear up for a challenging run of fixtures to follow against Juventus in the Champions League and Barcelona in La Liga.