Cole Palmer will withdraw from the England squad with a minor muscle injury, cutting short a recall that had been one of the headline decisions of Thomas Tuchel’s latest selection. The Chelsea midfielder was named on Friday for the forthcoming Nations League fixtures, but the problem is expected to deny him the chance to add to a modest England record under the current manager.
Palmer’s case has been built on his form at club level, where he has contributed four goals and two assists this season and been a virtual ever-present for Chelsea. That was not enough to earn him a place in Tuchel’s World Cup squad, with the manager leaving him out after his form ebbed last season and preferring Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze as his No 10s. All three have been retained for this elongated international window, with Palmer added to the group on the back of his early-season output. The 24-year-old has made only three appearances under Tuchel, a tally frequently undermined by injury, and he is once again expected to miss out with England.
Marcus Rashford is also a doubt for the upcoming fixtures. The Manchester United winger held the area by the front of his hip and groin as he walked off slowly after his substitution at Fulham on Sunday. Tuchel has long championed Rashford, calling him up when he named his first squad in March of last year while the player was struggling for form, wanting to show the 28-year-old that he believed in him, and including him whenever he was available. The manager appeared to lose a little faith after Rashford played poorly against the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the last 32 of the World Cup, barely using him thereafter until England’s semi-final exit against Argentina, when he was given a couple of minutes as a stoppage-time substitute and nothing more. He did start the first 45 minutes of the third-place playoff against France.
Rashford’s United teammate Kobbie Mainoo is another doubt. Mainoo was in the World Cup squad but was the only outfield player not to get a single minute on the pitch. Tuchel said last Friday that it was entirely on him and no slight on Mainoo’s ability or levels of application, and stated that he would certainly give the midfielder minutes in at least one of the upcoming games.
Newcastle full-back Tino Livramento is expected to withdraw from the squad as well. He was forced to pull out of the World Cup squad with a calf injury and only returned for his club as a substitute against Bournemouth at the start of the month. He then suffered a set-back in training before Newcastle’s win over Hull on Saturday and was not in the match-day squad. Livramento is yet to start a game this season.
England are back in Nations League Group A and kick off against Spain at Wembley on Saturday, before travelling to face Czechia and Croatia and then returning to Wembley to play Czechia. The fixtures represent the first steps on a new two-year cycle that Tuchel and his players hope will end in glory at Euro 2028.