Palmer, Rice and three others withdraw from England squad

Tino Livramento, Kobbie Mainoo, Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford and Declan Rice have all pulled out of England's squad for forthcoming Nations League matches

Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White and Everton's James Garner have been called into the squad by manager Thomas Tuchel and will join the squad on Tuesday. Tuchel said on Friday that 26-year-old Gibbs-White, who has six international caps, was close to being included in the initial squad.

Palmer, 24, had been recalled by Tuchel after being controversially left out of England's World Cup squad but has withdrawn with a minor injury. Tuchel previously said Palmer had a "point to prove" and needed "to step up" to "keep his shirt and justify the nomination".

The Three Lions face World Cup winners Spain at Wembley on Saturday, 26 September, then travel to the Czech Republic (29 September) and Croatia (3 October) before hosting the Czechs on 6 October in an extended international break. Manchester United duo Rashford and Mainoo have also pulled out.

They were assessed by their club after being taken off in the closing stages of Sunday's 1-1 draw at Fulham. Rice, who played the full game for Arsenal in their 3-0 defeat by Brighton, will also be unavailable to Tuchel, along with Livramento, who has been limited to three substitute appearances for Newcastle United this season.

Palmer's withdrawal comes after he played the full game for Chelsea in their 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Friday. Following a summer off after missing out on World Cup selection, he has started six of Chelsea's seven games and played the full 90 minutes in five of them - scoring four goals and providing two assists.

Palmer, who last played for England in their 1-0 friendly defeat by Japan in March, was hampered by a recurring groin injury in 2025-26, which Chelsea had to manage. Gibbs-White made his most recent England appearance in a 3-0 friendly win against Wales in October 2025. He has one goal and two assists from Forest's five league games this season.

Like Gibbs-White, Garner - who made both his two senior England appearances in March - comes in after not being selected for the 2026 World Cup.