Cole Palmer agony: Chelsea star faces extended spell out and World Cup heartache
Cole Palmer’s recent injury and form struggles could see him struggle to make Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad next year.
Cole Palmer has developed into one of the Premier League and world’s best players during his time at Chelsea, but has struggled to get going this season amid ongoing injury issues.
Palmer missed Chelsea’s wins against West Ham and Fulham in August after suffering a groin injury during the warm up at the London Stadium, and he returned to score two goals in three games before picking up another issue against Man United.
Enzo Maresca soon announced that Palmer would not play again until after October’s international break, and he has remained sidelined ever since, while Football Insider revealed on Wednesday (8 October) that Chelsea fear that Palmer’s groin injury is worse than originally believed.
The 23-year-old has only played once under Thomas Tuchel since he took over as England boss due to ongoing injury issues, and his chances of making next year’s World Cup seem to be dwindling as the team grows under the German boss.
Palmer has failed to hit the heights of 2024 this year
He had initially been expected to return to action at some point this month after his latest setback, but recent reports have stated that Palmer is set to play again in November, and it is not clear whether he could feature before the second international break of the campaign next month.
The 23-year-old registered 15 goals and nine assists in 37 league games throughout 2024-25, yet many of those were recorded before the turn of the year as he continued his fine PFA Young Player of the Year form from 2023-24.
| Year | Games Played | Goals | Assists |
| 2024 | 56 | 33 | 17 |
| 2025 so far | 36 | 8 | 8 |
Only six of those 24 goal contributions came in 2025 as he failed to keep it up throughout the campaign, and even though Palmer impressed in the Club World Cup final against PSG, he had only recorded two contributions in the six other games in the tournament.
He has played well and made an impact in his fleeting appearances so far this season, but they have been way too few-and-far-between, with just 235 minutes under his belt in 2025-26 as yet.
Palmer simply has to get back fit as soon as possible and start playing to the top of his game, as he is already facing an uphill battle to get into Tuchel’s plans and there are only two more international breaks until the World Cup kicks off in June 2026.
Palmer could miss the World Cup with England amid tough midfield battle
Amid the current international break that sees England face Latvia on Tuesday (14 October) with a win securing World Cup qualification, The Times (13 October) have reported that there could be as few as five spots up for grabs on the plane to the tournament due to Tuchel already having a settled squad.
His wing options seem set, with Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke each playing well for the Three Lions in recent months, while Morgan Rogers and Jude Bellingham seem like his likely number 10 options, with only three outfielders playing more minutes than the Villa man under Tuchel so far.
Palmer could realistically be vying for just one vacant spot across the attacking midfield or wing positions, with the likes of Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Morgan Gibbs-White all also battling to be included.
Palmer and former Man City teammate Foden could be in a direct competition for a place in Tuchel’s squad, considering their similar levels of ability and trajectories over the last few seasons.
The Chelsea star’s chances will be boosted by his outstanding penalty record, as shown above, with 18 scored from the 19 he has taken in his short career up to this point.
England went to a penalty shootout at Euro 2024 against Switzerland, with Palmer stepping up to dispatch the all-important first spot-kick, and his star quality in big moments does make him stand out from other potential options.
It is going to take an almighty effort for him to thrust himself into Tuchel’s plans regardless, however, and he will be rueing his recent injury record as one of the main factors if he is not included in the squad for the showpiece event of the footballing calendar in 2026.