Morgan Gibbs-White was on holiday in Dubai. He was called up by Thomas Tuchel to replace Cole Palmer, who withdrew with a knock and some physical discomfort. Palmer and Chelsea informed the manager, according to Tuchel.
The list of absentees keeps growing: Declan Rice, Tino Livramento, Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo have also withdrawn through injury. On Saturday, against Spain at Wembley, England play their first Nations League match since the World Cup. Beaten 2-1 by Argentina in the semi-final, the Three Lions had finished the tournament in third place by beating France 6-4.
Tuchel did not hide his frustration. “He misses way too many camps with injuries, and I only want to rely on what I witness and see within in my team, and for that you have to be in camp,” he told the BBC about Palmer.
I saw that on Sporza at the café. A player leaves Dubai to come and play Spain. That’s historic. I’m weighing my words. Me, I leave a family dinner for a 1.30pm kick-off, nobody calls me, nobody thanks me. Still, there are positives: he answered the phone. And a 6-4 win over France for third place, that was historic too. Well, not bad. Now we take it one game at a time.
Palmer has 14 caps and has played only three times since Tuchel took charge in January 2025. The manager had already left him out of his World Cup squad, after a difficult run of form and fitness the previous season. This season, the forward has played in Chelsea’s first five Premier League matches.
It’s true, we checked: BBC Sport · Football.
