Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has said Cole Palmer is committed to playing for England and revealed the club’s No 10 missed this international break with a problem related to the groin injury that kept him out for much of last season.
Palmer is fit to face Bournemouth on Saturday, but his withdrawal from the England squad drew disappointment from Thomas Tuchel. The England head coach said the 24-year-old “misses too many opportunities” to play for his country and questioned whether Palmer wanted to be part of the squad after making himself unavailable for the start of the Nations League campaign last month.
Genuine reasons for withdrawal
Palmer has won five caps since scoring against Spain in the Euro 2024 final, but his latest withdrawal was for genuine reasons. He struggled with persistent groin pain last season, which led to him missing out on a place in Tuchel’s World Cup squad, and felt minor irritation before Chelsea’s defeat by Brentford last month. The issue still needs careful management.
“The most important thing for Cole is to be fully fit, that he enjoys his game, that he is feeling OK,” Alonso said. “Whenever he is not, like in the Brentford game, we could see that he was struggling. He’s committed but he needs to be fully fit to play. We need him – the club and the national team.”
Recovery and form
The recent issue is nowhere near as bad as when Palmer struggled to shoot properly last season. Resting during the extended break has helped. “Now he’s fine,” Alonso said. “He’s been feeling better this week. We use the first two weeks for him to recover. It’s a little bit from the pubalgia he had.”
Tuchel has plenty of competition in attacking midfield, and it remains to be seen whether he picks Palmer for next month’s games against Croatia and Spain. Asked whether a player can be considered truly world class if they do not play international football, Alonso said: “Things happen naturally. When you show for your club that you are a top-level player and you have regularity, normally it is the natural way that you are part of the national team.”
Reaction to criticism and team news
Alonso was nonplussed to hear about the broadcaster Piers Morgan calling Palmer a bottle job for failing to represent England. “I don’t know the comment and I don’t know the guy,” he said.
Palmer has been in fine form for Chelsea this season, scoring four goals. They will need him at his best after three league games without a win. Alonso hopes that Reece James, Moisés Caicedo and Marco Palestra will also return from injury against Bournemouth.
