Rice and Palmer withdraw from England squad as Gibbs-White earns recall

Declan Rice and Cole Palmer are among five players to withdraw from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad ahead of Nations League matches against Spain, Czech Republic and Croatia, with Nottingham Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White and James Garner drafted in as replacements.

Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo and Tino Livramento have also pulled out through injury, leaving Tuchel short of options as England prepare for four matches across the expanded three-week international break.

Palmer, who was recalled by Tuchel last week after being left out of the World Cup squad, is reportedly managing a small muscle injury. The 24-year-old completed Chelsea’s 3-0 defeat to Brentford on Friday but has battled persistent fitness issues, recently revealing on a Twitch stream that he “had one leg for 10 months” during a disrupted previous campaign.

Rashford’s withdrawal follows a concerning moment in Manchester United’s 1-1 draw at Fulham on Sunday, where manager Michael Carrick confirmed the forward picked up an “issue” and was substituted while appearing to struggle with his hip — a problem that had troubled him throughout the summer. Mainoo was also substituted late in the same match at Craven Cottage.

Gibbs-White’s call-up is the most eye-catching development. The 26-year-old has not featured for England since winning his sixth cap as a second-half substitute in a 3-0 win over Wales in October last year, and was overlooked when Tuchel named his first post-World Cup squad last week. His inclusion now is a direct consequence of Palmer’s withdrawal, which has opened a vacancy in the number ten role.

The Nottingham Forest captain has been in outstanding domestic form, having scored more Premier League goals in the current calendar year than any other player, yet he was left out of England’s World Cup squad despite that consistency.

Mainoo travelled to the World Cup with England but did not play a single minute of the tournament under Tuchel.

England open their Nations League campaign against World Cup winners Spain at Wembley on Saturday, 26 September, before travelling to face Czech Republic and Croatia. The set of fixtures concludes with a home match against Czech Republic at Wembley on Tuesday, 7 October.