Where is Cole Palmer? Chelsea talisman could yet join up with England squad as Blues mysteriously delete statement on 'injured' attacker

Palmer was named in Tuchel's first England squad but then appeared to pull out after Chelsea confirmed their talisman would be staying at the club for further assessment on an injury that ruled him out of the Blues' Premier League defeat to Arsenal on Sunday. However, Chelsea have now mysteriously deleted their update on Palmer as he has not "officially withdrawn" from the squad and could "potentially" still join up with the squad, according to the Daily Mail.

Palmer underwent further scans on his injury on Monday which came back clear but he is still experiencing some hamstring discomfort, according to reporter Simon Phillips. The 22-year-old has now undergone more tests to try to diagnose the problem. As such, there is a chance that Palmer could still link up with England if no injury is found, but it still seems unlikely that he will feature in either of the Three Lions' World Cup qualifiers.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca offered an update on Palmer after the defeat to Arsenal. He told reporters: "Last week, as we know, he had some problem and unfortunately, yesterday he had a very small problem and we think that probably after the international break he will be ready to be back with us. His injury was from yesterday’s session, it’s a muscular problem. He needs a scan, and it is planned for tomorrow [Monday] morning. I hope he can be back for our next game, but we need to wait for a scan. We don’t wish players injury, but probably in Cole’s case in this moment it will give him some rest, physically and mentally, it could be good."

Palmer must wait for the results of his latest tests before discovering when he will be ready to return to action. In the meantime, Tuchel will be aiming to get off to a winning start as England boss on Friday against Albania at Wembley.