Gibbs-White Set For England Recall as Palmer Withdraws Through Injury

Morgan Gibbs-White is set to be handed a recall to the England squad, stepping in for Cole Palmer after the Chelsea forward pulled out through a minor injury.

The Nottingham Forest midfielder was left out of Thomas Tuchel's initial squad for the upcoming Nations League matches, but is now expected to be called up. Tuchel had already hinted on Friday that Gibbs-White came close to making the original cut, and he'll now take Palmer's place for the international window.

Palmer's withdrawal is a blow after he'd only just returned to the fold, having been recalled by Tuchel following his controversial omission from England's World Cup squad. At the time, Tuchel made clear the 24-year-old had "a point to prove" and needed "to step up" in order to "keep his shirt and justify the nomination." Instead, Palmer will now miss the entire international break, which includes four matches for England.

The Three Lions face World Cup winners Spain at Wembley on Saturday, 26 September, before away trips to the Czech Republic on 29 September and Croatia on 3 October, followed by a home game against the Czechs on 6 October.

Palmer's injury comes after he played the full 90 minutes in Chelsea's 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Friday. Since returning from a summer off following his World Cup snub, he's started six of Chelsea's seven games this season, playing the full match in five of them, and has contributed four goals and two assists. He'd struggled with a recurring groin issue throughout 2025-26, something Chelsea had to carefully manage. His last England appearance came in a 1-0 friendly defeat to Japan back in March.

Gibbs-White, meanwhile, last featured for England in a 3-0 friendly win over Wales in October 2025. He's been in good form for Forest this season too, contributing a goal and two assists across their opening five league matches.