England manager Gareth Southgate has explained why Cole Palmer did not play a single minute for the Three Lions during the international break.
Palmer was called up to the England squad off the back of his impressive form with Chelsea, and was expected to play some part against either Brazil and Belgium.
The 21-year-old has 11 goals and eight assists in the Premier League this season, and England supporters were calling on Southgate to give him some minutes.
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It was the second time Palmer had been included in an England squad, and he received his first two caps for his country in November.
But this time around, the attacking midfielder had to watch on from the sidelines as the Three Lions lost 1-0 to Brazil and drew 2-2 with Belgium.
Southgate has now clarified the real reason why Palmer missed out entirely amid an England injury crisis - stating that he could not train properly prior to the Belgium clash and 'missed most of the week'.
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He explained: "I said when I named the squad, there is competition for places in those wide areas.
"A bit of a shame that Cole Palmer missed so much training that we weren't able to put him into the game [against Belgium] at the stage it was, having missed most of the week.
"We weren't 100 per cent certain what we would get, whereas with [Anthony] Gordon we knew, and [James] Maddison we knew. I wouldn't rule Cole out of that equation."
The extent of Palmer's fitness issues was not revealed by Southgate, and the problem will no doubt leave Chelsea fans concerned ahead of a pivotal run of fixtures for Mauricio Pochettino's side.
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But the Blues confirmed that Palmer did return to training with his club on Wednesday - the day after the Belgium match - indicating that he could be fit to take on Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Featured Image Credit: Getty / EnglandTopics:ย Gareth Southgate, England, Cole Palmer, Chelsea, Football