England carry out Cole Palmer medical checks ahead of squad selection
England carry out Cole Palmer medical checks ahead of squad

England have carried out medical checks with Chelsea on Cole Palmer as Thomas Tuchel weighs up whether to include the 24-year-old in his squad for the upcoming Nations League matches.

Tuchel has been considering whether to name Palmer in his England squad on Friday ahead of the group-phase games against Croatia at Wembley next Thursday and Spain in Madrid next Sunday.

Palmer's season form

Palmer has scored three goals and contributed three assists in nine Premier League games for Chelsea so far this season, but he was left out of the England squad for the World Cup and has not played for his country since March.

He was initially named in Tuchel's squad for the last international break but dropped out due to injury, with the England head coach frustrated as he concluded the Chelsea talisman misses "too many opportunities" to represent the Three Lions.

Tuchel on missed opportunities

"For sure, it is a missed opportunity. It is another missed opportunity. He misses too many opportunities and I don't blame him for it, it is just a fact," Tuchel said. "He misses way too many camps.

"I can only judge what I witness in my team. For that, you have to be in camp. If you are not in camp there is a next level to impress that you cannot achieve, because you only can do it when you are actually with me and us on the pitch. So, yes, it is a missed opportunity."

International record

Palmer has just 14 caps for England at senior level despite having been the scorer of their only goal in the final of Euro 2024, which they lost to Spain. He has only scored one other goal for England besides that strike against Spain: a penalty in a friendly victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina also in 2024.

He has featured in only three of the 26 matches of Tuchel's England tenure so far.

Palmer scored the second of Chelsea's two goals last Saturday as they beat 10-man Manchester United in the Premier League.