Alonso says Cole Palmer committed to England after missing international break
Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso said Cole Palmer is committed to playing for England and confirmed the club’s No 10 missed this international break with a groin-related problem, ahead of Chelsea’s game with Bournemouth.
Palmer pulled out of England’s squad because of that injury issue and has won five caps since scoring against Spain in the Euro 2024 final. He struggled with persistent groin pain last season, which led to him missing out on a place in Tuchel’s World Cup squad.
Thomas Tuchel publicly expressed his disappointment after Palmer made himself unavailable for the start of England’s Nations League campaign last month, saying the 24-year-old “misses too many opportunities” and questioning whether Palmer wanted to be part of the squad. Palmer reported a minor irritation before Chelsea’s defeat by Brentford last month and the problem still requires careful management.
Alonso insisted fitness must come first, saying: “The most important thing for Cole is to be fully fit, that he enjoys his game, that he is feeling OK.” He added: “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.”
The manager said the recent issue is nowhere as near as bad as when Palmer struggled to shoot properly last season and that 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.”
Palmer has been in fine form for Chelsea this season, scoring four goals, while the club have gone three league games without a win. Alonso noted that Tuchel faces 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.
Alonso said he was nonplussed at broadcaster Piers Morgan calling Palmer a bottle job and responded: “I don’t know the comment and I don’t know the guy,” he said. He also hopes Reece James, Moisés Caicedo and Marco Palestra will return from injury for the Bournemouth match.
Palmer is fit and available for selection for Chelsea’s game with Bournemouth on Saturday, with Alonso stressing the forward needs to be fully fit to play as the club seek to end their run of three league games without a win.