Chelsea have confirmed that Cole Palmer has returned from the England squad to undergo further assessment on the injury he sustained before Sunday's 1-0 loss to Arsenal.
On the eve of the Blues' defeat to their London rivals at the Emirates, reports emerged that the former Manchester City starlet was not going to make the cut owing to a problem he picked up in training.
True enough, Palmer was nowhere to be seen as Chelsea's four-game winning run came to an end at the hands of Mikel Arteta's side, although Enzo Maresca played down the severity of his concern.
However, after England boss Thomas Tuchel called up Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White to his squad earlier this week, the expectation was that Palmer would soon officially drop out.
Now, both the Three Lions and Chelsea have confirmed that the 22-year-old will not be involved in this month's World Cup 2026 qualifiers with Albania and Latvia as he continues his rehabilitation at the Blues' training ground.
Chelsea, England release Cole Palmer statements as withdrawal confirmed
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"Cole Palmer remains with Chelsea for further assessment on an injury sustained in training ahead of his club's fixture at Arsenal last Sunday," a statement from his national team read.
Meanwhile, Chelsea said: "Cole Palmer has returned to Chelsea from the England camp following the injury he sustained in training on Saturday.
"Palmer did not feature in Sunday's defeat at Arsenal because of what Enzo Maresca described as a muscular problem sustained in the build-up to the game. Palmer will miss the Three Lions' upcoming World Cup qualifiers at home to Albania and Latvia and instead continue his recovery at Cobham."
Palmer is only expected to spend a couple of weeks on the treatment table, meaning that the playmaker could realistically return for Chelsea's first game back against Tottenham Hotspur on April 3 following the international break.
The 22-year-old has amassed an eye-catching 14 goals and six assists from 28 Premier League matches in the 2024-25 season, but he has failed to score or set up a teammate in his last seven top-flight games.
What creative options is Tuchel left with?
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While it remains to be seen which formation Tuchel will go for as England boss - the German is fond of both a three-man and four-man defence - there was reason to expect that Palmer would have been at the heart of it.
The 22-year-old memorably scored England's equaliser in their Euro 2024 final loss to Spain and could have benefitted from Bukayo Saka's absence to start on the right this month, had he not then sustained a problem of his own.
However, Tuchel still has the aforementioned Gibbs-White ready to take on playmaking responsibilities, as well as Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, Manchester City's Phil Foden, Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze and Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham.
Of course, captain Harry Kane can also be expected to drop deep and bring others into the attack with his astounding passing range, so even with Palmer missing, England should not be lacking in ingenuity.
Tuchel's first game as Three Lions boss comes against Albania at Wembley on Friday, three days before Latvia visit the English capital for their second Group K fixture.
Ben Knapton
