Chelsea forward Cole Palmer will be sidelined for England’s opening World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia due to a muscle injury, as confirmed by head coach Thomas Tuchel on Thursday.
Despite being named in Tuchel’s initial squad, Palmer has not joined his teammates as he is currently undergoing assessment at his club.
“Cole won’t be with us. He has not been training with Chelsea,” Tuchel informed journalists ahead of the team’s final training session before Friday’s home match against Albania.
“We have been waiting for some time now for an update and an opportunity to consider him, but he isn’t fit to train and therefore isn’t available. It wouldn’t be logical to include him at this point.”
“We will stick with the current squad. Everyone has been training today, all 26 players, which gives us plenty of options.”
The 22-year-old was a scorer in last year’s EURO 2024 final and is regarded as a key component of Tuchel’s strategy, although he has faced challenges with form and fitness recently at Chelsea.
England is set to face Latvia on Monday.
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