With much being made of nine England players, including Palmer, pulling out of the England squad ahead of their Nations League clash with Greece, the various missing individuals have been under intense scrutiny in recent days. However, the Chelsea star seems to have a more legitimate excuse than most.
The fact he had picked up an injury ahead of Chelsea's game against Arsenal was public knowledge, and while Palmer started that game, he rarely looked himself, and it seemed that the injury was hampering his play style. Taking time off to focus on his recovery, Palmer clearly had a free Saturday in the diary, and decided to make the journey to Stockport's Edgeley Park on Saturday.