Chelsea star Cole Palmer has withdrawn from England’s squad for the upcoming international break, with reports suggesting the’ll miss the Nations League fixtures due to a muscle issue and workload concerns.
The transfer is a blow for Thomas Tuchel, who had been considering bringing him back into England’s plans after he left the manager’s World Cup squad earlier this year. The forward’s first season of the 2026-27 season had been a brilliant start, with Chelsea scoring four times and assisting two goals in seven games.
The timing was especially interesting as Palmer played in the entirety of Chelsea’s defeat against Brentford on Friday, after England’s squad announcement.
Palmer is believed to be set to sit out the international window, and Morgan Gibbs-White has been reported as a possible replacement. Chelsea coach Xabi Alonso has noted Palmer’s fitness issues previously, and stressed in August that the midfielder must stay fit and find his rhythm.
At the time, Alonso said that “when we have this Cole he’s top class, world class.
Palmer isn’t the only issue that Tuchel has to address. Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo are also uncertainties from Manchester United, following their loss to Fulham on Sunday. Rashford’s situation looks even more precarious following United manager Michael Carrick’s admission that a problem had arisen with the striker.
England are set to face world champions Spain on their debut match in the Nations League on September 26 at Wembley, with three days of Czech Republic on the journey to come after that. Tuchel’s men will next face Croatia in October in Rijeka before playing the Czech Republic at Wembley on October 6, at which point the England boss will have a host of fitness worries to attend to.
