Thomas Tuchel has lost five players from his England squad in the space of a single afternoon, and the name that stings most is Cole Palmer. The Chelsea forward had only just been brought back in after being left out of the World Cup, a decision that caused more argument than anything else Tuchel did all summer. Now a minor injury has taken him out again before he could play a minute.
Palmer is joined on the withdrawal list by Declan Rice, Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo and Tino Livramento. Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White and Everton's James Garner have been called in and were due to link up with the group on Tuesday. Neither is a surprise. Tuchel said on Friday that Gibbs-White, 26, had been close to making the original cut.
Palmer's recall lasted four days
The timing is awkward. Tuchel had gone out of his way to frame the recall as a test, saying Palmer had a "point to prove" and needed "to step up" to "keep his shirt and justify the nomination". That kind of public challenge only works if the player gets on the pitch.
Palmer, 24, played the full 90 in Chelsea's 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Friday. He has started six of Chelsea's seven games this season and finished five of them, with four goals and two assists. Nobody could argue he has been hiding. His last England appearance was the 1-0 friendly loss to Japan back in March, and a groin problem that kept flaring up through 2025-26 forced Chelsea into managing his minutes for months. No club or association has put a label on the current issue.
Rice, Rashford, Mainoo and Livramento all out too
Rice is arguably the bigger football loss. He played the full game in Arsenal's 3-0 defeat by Brighton and has been on the pitch for 549 of a possible 630 league minutes this season. That is after a campaign in which he made 69 appearances for club and country while carrying a hamstring injury that followed him all the way into the World Cup.
Rashford and Mainoo were both taken off late in Manchester United's 1-1 draw at Fulham on Sunday and assessed at Carrington afterwards. Each has started four of United's five league games. Livramento's situation is different again: he has managed three substitute appearances for Newcastle this season, came off with a knee problem before the Hull fixture, and has not built up anything close to a full match load.
England's medical staff signed off on all five withdrawals in agreement with the clubs. No specific diagnoses have been released.
A long window with Spain first
What makes this more than routine squad churn is the shape of the schedule. This is an extended international break with four fixtures in it. England host world champions Spain at Wembley on Saturday 26 September, travel to the Czech Republic on 29 September, go to Croatia on 3 October, then finish at home against the Czechs on 6 October.
Opening against Spain without Rice in midfield and Palmer behind the striker is not the preparation Tuchel wanted. Gibbs-White has one goal and two assists from Forest's five league games and last wore an England shirt in a 3-0 friendly win over Wales in October 2025. Garner, like Gibbs-White, missed out on World Cup selection and has two senior caps, both won in March.
Both now get a run of four games to make a case. Given how quickly Palmer's recall unravelled, the door is more open than either of them could have expected a week ago.
Squad facts: Withdrawals — Cole Palmer (Chelsea, 24), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Kobbie Mainoo (Man Utd), Tino Livramento (Newcastle). Call-ups — Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest, 26, six caps), James Garner (Everton, two caps). Fixtures — Spain (H) 26 Sept, Czech Republic (A) 29 Sept, Croatia (A) 3 Oct, Czech Republic (H) 6 Oct.
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