England latest: Cole Palmer, Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford and Tino Livramento withdraw from Thomas Tuchel's squad
Cole Palmer, Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford and Tino Livramento have withdrawn from England duty; Palmer was recalled to Thomas Tuchel's squad after being snubbed for the 2026 World Cup; Morgan Gibbs-White and James Garner called up
Monday 21 September 2026 15:05, UK
Cole Palmer and Declan Rice are among five players to have withdrawn from the England squad.
Palmer, Rice, Tino Livramento and Manchester United duo Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford have all withdrawn from the camp, with Morgan Gibbs-White and James Garner being recalled as replacements.
Palmer, who was left out of Tuchel's World Cup squad in the summer, played the full 90 minutes in Chelsea's defeat to Brentford after being recalled for the Three Lions' Nations League games against Spain, Czech Republic and Croatia.
After announcing his squad for the September and October fixtures, Tuchel revealed what both Gibbs-White and Palmer had to do to become regulars.
"We can see the form Morgan is in and he ended the season very strongly and was the key player for Forest to not be relegated. We can see him stepping up now," Tuchel said.
"It's one thing to be nominated and getting back in the squad and to perform. Cole needs to show these kinds of numbers and performances to get his shirt and justify the nomination."
After struggling with injuries last season, Palmer told Sky Sports he felt he was back to full fitness coming into the new campaign.
- Analysis: Thomas Tuchel must win back trust
- England news and analysis | Follow our England blog
- Neville: I have a big problem with Tuchel's DNA comments
"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 said.
"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].'
"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."
Rice was a focal point of England's side during the World Cup but had to play through injury throughout the tournament. He since started each of Arsenal's five Premier League games this season.
Mainoo unable to prove Tuchel wrong after withdrawal
Sky Sports News reported prior to the announcement that Mainoo and Rashford were both doubts for the squad.
The pair were substituted during United's 1-1 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Rashford had a hip injury that the club have been handling since the World Cup and was seen limping after being replaced during Sunday's fixture.
Mainoo meanwhile played 80 minutes against Fulham with Michael Carrick saying he was replaced due to tactical reasons.
The 24-year-old was part of the World Cup squad in the summer but did not play a single minute, something which Tuchel promised would not be the case this international break.
"I expect him to be on the pitch and it's my duty to get him on the pitch. That was totally on me. He didn't put a foot wrong during the World Cup," Tuchel said.
"He was class in behaviour on the training pitch. There was big competition; we played Reece [James] in central midfield also. Elliot Anderson is amazing for us, Declan Rice is a very unique player
"We trusted them more than we trusted Kobbie. It was difficult for him. It was on me.
"He got injured before the France game so we couldn't even give him minutes there, which hurt me. Maybe he was more hurt than me but it was my responsibility and it's my responsibility to reward him for that."
How will Tuchel react to Palmer's withdrawal?
Sky Sports News' chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol:
"It's not a serious injury but it's something that needs to be managed. It doesn't make sense from Chelsea's perspective for him to go away on international duty for three weeks.
"Everyone knows Palmer has had quite a lot of injury problems, especially last season. He had a longstanding groin injury which meant he missed long stretches of last season. He wasn't really at his best.
"He has been at his best this season though. He has started every game. He started when they lost away at Brentford.
"Some cynics may be asking if there is more to this than meets the eye. Tuchel controversially left him out of his World Cup squad in the summer so he really had a point to prove. Straight away he lets him down by not being able to make the squad.
"Tuchel is someone who places great store by these camps away from your club for a long time. Some of the reasons that he picked the players he did in the summer was because they impressed him in the camps last autumn.
"It is a little bit of a black mark against Palmer's name but it should be a kept in proportion because the next tournament is still two years away."
