Cole Palmer's withdrawal from the England squad due to a minor injury has reignited the club versus country debate, with some accusing the Chelsea star of faking it after being left out of Thomas Tuchel's World Cup squad.
Club vs Country Debate Returns
The discussion dominated the 'Golden Generation' era, when England's failures were often blamed on players from rival clubs struggling to get along. Rio Ferdinand admitted his drive to win with Manchester United left him afraid to open up in front of Chelsea and Liverpool players 'for fear they would take something back to their club and use it against us'.
Things have moved on in recent years, with players generally being pretty pally behind closed doors – even too pally for some of the more old-school pundits. The current debate focuses on whether players want to play for England enough, after five dropped out from Tuchel's squad this week for varying injury concerns.
Load Management or Lack of Commitment?
Former Wales international James Collins thinks Palmer has 'got the hump' with Tuchel over his exclusion during the summer, even suggesting he went to Chelsea's medical staff and said 'don't fancy it… say something, load management'. Collins' opinion is based on nothing more than a hunch.
Clubs across the Premier League are more than happy for their players to miss out on international duty, a phenomenon that is not new – Sir Alex Ferguson famously played Paul Scholes in a midweek game in 2002, the day after withdrawing the midfielder from an England squad due to injury.
Palmer's Injury History
Palmer's form last season suffered as a result of trying to play through a groin injury that just wouldn't go away, and his exclusion from the World Cup was fair – even if he would've been a great player to have for those final ten minutes against Argentina.
His detractors argue that because he didn't make the World Cup, he should be willing to risk injury again for the sake of a couple of Nations League games. But with the next major tournament under two years away, the question remains whether Palmer is right to play the long game and focus on being fully fit.
