Cole Palmer withdrew from the England squad on Monday because of a muscle injury. The Chelsea forward had earned a recall from Thomas Tuchel, the England manager, after missing the 2026 World Cup.
Palmer played the full 90 minutes in Chelsea’s 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Friday. He then pulled out of the Three Lions camp for the extended international break. England face Spain at Wembley on 26 September. They then travel to the Czech Republic on 29 September and Croatia on 3 October before hosting the Czech Republic on 6 October.
Tuchel left Palmer out of his World Cup squad in the summer. The 24-year-old last appeared for England in a 1-0 friendly defeat by Japan in March. Palmer started the new club season strongly. He scored four goals and provided two assists in seven appearances for Chelsea.
Tuchel previously said Palmer had a point to prove. He added that the player needed to step up to keep his shirt and justify the nomination. After the recall, Palmer prepared to feature in the Nations League games.
Palmer had spoken about his condition earlier in the campaign. He told Sky Sports: “Physically I feel good, probably the best I’ve felt in ages, but I think I can get fitter with games and more minutes.” He also said: “Before my groin injury, I’d never really been injured. Well, rarely injured. So then I would just come back and play when I shouldn’t have played.”
A recurring groin problem limited Palmer during the 2025-26 season. Xabi Alonso, the Chelsea manager, said at the start of this season that those troubles belonged in the past. Alonso added: “I think that Cole has gone through a difficult period with the injury, and now he’s working really hard to have the prevention not to have to feel those symptoms.”
The withdrawal left Tuchel without Palmer for the four-match window. Reports described the issue as a minor muscular problem linked to load management after a busy start to the season.
