Thomas Tuchel has been dealt a heavy blow after Cole Palmer is set to pull out of the England squad ahead of the extended international break.
Palmer was left out of the German’s World Cup squad in the summer and played the full 90 minutes in Chelsea’s last fixture against Brentford.
The attacking midfielder will miss the Three Lions’ Nations League games against Spain, the Czech Republic and Croatia.
Palmer has found his form again this season, registering four goals and two assists in seven games.
The 24-year-old struggled last campaign with injury, but after having the summer off to get back to full strength, he looks back to his best.
“Physically I feel good, probably the best I’ve felt in ages, but I think I can [get fitter] with games and more minutes,” Palmer told Sky Sports.
“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.
“Obviously the World Cup was coming up, so I was in a bit of a dilemma, thinking: ‘If I don’t play, I’m not going to go. But if I play then, I can’t play [properly].’
Thomas Tuchel has been dealt a heavy blow after England star Cole Palmer is set to pull out of his squad
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PA“It was just a bit of a sticky situation. I didn’t really know how to deal with it, but it’s one of those things. I was just seeing different people, getting different ideas of why I was injured and what it was.
“Since I’ve come back, I’ve been working every day to obviously stop it happening again. I just want to stay injury-free, and if I’m on the pitch then I know what I can do.”
Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford is understood to be assessing a hip issue, while Kobbie Mainoo is likely to pull out through injury, according to The Athletic.
England play their first Nations League fixture on Saturday at Wembley against Spain.
Cole Palmer has rediscovered his form in the early part of this season
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GETTYThe Three Lions reached the World Cup semi-finals in the summer, before losing to Argentina 2-1 after going ahead.
England boss Tuchel made several defensive-minded changes very early on, coming under heavy fire after his side surrendered the lead.
The German doubled down on his decisions in the fixture when speaking to the press, remaining adamant that nobody can know whether another move would have produced a different outcome.
He said: “The decisions in the Argentina game, sometimes as a coach you can only win if you win.
Tuchel’s side play four games over the extended international period
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GETTY“Who knows what would have happened. If we hadn’t made any subs what would have happened? Who knows.
“I will not allow 30 minutes of this World Cup to override how we view our achievement.”
Tuchel explained he has support from the FA, which became clear before England’s infamous 3-2 win against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium.
He said: “Before the Mexico game, they told me we know anything can happen in a football match, but don’t worry, we can see what’s going on.
“I felt this kind of freedom to take my choices and coach freely.”
Tuchel signed a two-year extension to his contract in February of this year, and is set to lead the Three Lions through to Euro 2028.
