England boss Thomas Tuchel provides injury update on Chelsea star Cole Palmer ahead of World Cup qualifier

England head coach Thomas Tuchel has opened up on Chelsea star Cole Palmer's fitness ahead of the Three Lions' World Cup Qualifiers. The German has revealed that the attacking midfielder will play no part in England's upcoming World Cup qualifying matches against Albania and Latvia.

Palmer was named as part of the 26-man squad for England last week as Tuchel named his first squad since being appointed as head coach. However, there were doubts regarding the Chelsea superstar's availability for the matches against Albania and Latvia.

The former Manchester City star has struggled for fitness of late and missed Chelsea's trip to Arsenal where the Blues lost 1-0 on March 16. He was substituted in the 73rd minute against Leicester City before that.

Now, Tuchel has revealed that the 22-year-old won't be able to feature in England's upcoming games. The England manager told the press, as quoted by Metro:

"Cole will not be with us. He was not on the pitch with Chelsea, We’ve waited quite a while now for feedback and for the chance, maybe, to call him up. But he’s not on the pitch and not available. It makes no sense to call him up now."

Tuchel added:

"We stay with this group that we have. Everybody is in training today, all 26 players, so it gives us the full choice. Hopefully nothing happens in this training session and we will have to tough choices to make for tomorrow."

Palmer has struggled to emulate the sensational form that he displayed last season. Despite that, he has been Chelsea's key player with 14 goals and six assists in 33 appearances.

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Chelsea ready to sell 11 players to raise funds for big signing in the summer: Reports

The west London side are reportedly looking to sell as many as 11 players in the summer to fund a move for a new striker. The Blues have decided to bring in a top-class number nine and will be looking to free up their wage bill.

As reported by The Daily Mail, the Blues will look to sell most of their loanees in the summer. Trevoh Chalobah is the only member of the current side who could be shown the exit door.

Renato Veiga, Joao Felix, Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell all left on loan in January and could be offloaded permanently. Kepa Arrizabalaga, Axel Disasi, David Datro Fofana, Carney Chukwuemeka, Armando Broja and Deivid Washington are also likely to be sold.