Palmer absence is a ‘missed opportunity’ – Tuchel

VIA BBC SPORT:

England manager Thomas Tuchel on Cole Palmer: “For sure. It is a missed opportunity. He misses too many opportunities. I don’t blame him for it. It is just a fact. He misses way too many camps with injuries, and I only want to rely on what I witness and see within in my team, and for that you have to be in camp. And if you’re not in camp, there is a next level to impress that you cannot achieve because you can only do it when you are actually on the pitch with me. So yes, it is a missed opportunity.”

England manager Thomas Tuchel on Cole Palmer’s absence: “My understanding is that he is playing with discomfort and pain, and he cannot compete at the highest level with discomfort and pain. So he withdrew and informed us, and Chelsea informed us. That is my understanding.

“We are not managing load. When I was in club football, I used the term ‘international break’ and, when you hear it from the other side, it is a totally different picture. This is not an international break, and I think that is what we have created now.

“It is a competitive environment, but it is also an environment that the players love to be a part of. That is what togetherness and brotherhood look like, and that is what we have created since last September in qualifying. We will never compromise on that.

“We will never let it creep in that we have a feeling players do not want to come. It is fair enough. We focus on the guys who absolutely want to play for England.”