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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Alex Young

England name replacement for injured Cole Palmer in Thomas Tuchel's first squad

Injured: Cole Palmer - (Getty Images)

England manager Thomas Tuchel has called up Morgan Gibbs-White to his first squad amid concerns over Cole Palmer’s fitness.

The Nottingham Forest midfielder is expected to replace Palmer, who missed Chelsea’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal earlier on Sunday due to injury.

He will now join up with the rest of the squad ahead of their opening 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia at Wembley.

Gibbs-White made his senior debut last September and has two caps to his name.

Tuchel, who took charge of England on January 1, name-checked Gibbs-White alongside James Maddison, Conor Gallagher, Jacob Ramsey and Jarrad Branthwaite as players who could count themselves unlucky to miss out as he unveiled his first squad on Friday.

On the nature of Palmer's injury, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said: "He needs a scan, it is planned for Monday morning. It's a muscle problem.

"Probably in Cole's case it will give him some rest physically and mentally. It could be good."

Additional reporting by Press Association.

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