Cole Palmer has withdrawn from England’s Nations League squad with a minor muscle injury, ending his recall before the September–October window begins. The Chelsea forward played the full 90 minutes in the 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Friday, but club and player have agreed that a three-week international camp involving travel, training and four matches would place an unnecessary physical load on him.

Palmer had been one of the headline inclusions when Thomas Tuchel named his first post-World Cup England squad on 18 September. He scored four goals and provided two assists in seven Chelsea appearances this season, but his injury history – he missed 26 matches last campaign through six separate knocks and recently said he had been playing on “one leg for 10 months” – made his availability a sensitive issue.

Palmer is one of five players to pull out of Tuchel’s original 27-man selection. Declan Rice, Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo and Tino Livramento have also withdrawn because of injury or load-management concerns. Their absences leave England without several senior figures ahead of the opening Nations League match against Spain at Wembley on 26 September.

In response, the FA has called up Everton midfielder James Garner and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White. Both will join the squad on Tuesday. Gibbs-White returns to the international set-up for the first time since October 2025, having previously earned six caps, while Garner won his first two senior England appearances in March 2026.