Thomas Tuchel's England admission may spell bad news for Chelsea ace Cole Palmer | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel has made it clear that he plans to limit the number of central attacking midfielders in his England squad despite having many talented options in this position, and this could spell bad news for Cole Palmer.

This is the third international break period that Palmer has missed since June due to a persistent groin injury that he picked up during Chelsea's pre-season.

Palmer is not at fault for the injury, obviously, but he is still running out of time to impress the England head coach ahead of the 2026 World Cup selection.

While Tuchel still mentioned Palmer as an option, even those who have been more involved in recent months are not guaranteed a spot in the England squad.

IMAGO / Romans Koksarovs

"At the moment, if we keep the structure, they cannot play (together)," the German said in his press conference on Wednesday when speaking about Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and Phil Foden.

"They can, but not in the structure, not for the balance that we developed. Not for the structure that also comes with wingers who are like specialists in their positions.

"At the moment, we play with a number six, a number eight, a number 10, and a number nine.

"There is a lot of congruence, especially in the number 10 position.

"If you think about Phil can play there, you think about Jude, you think about Morgan Rogers, who played fantastic for us in this position.

"You have Cole Palmer, you have Morgan Gibbs-White, so there are a lot of players, and there is the chance that we will not take everyone."

IMAGO / PA Images

Tuchel further added that for now he sees Bellingham and Rogers as the two players leading the pecking order for the number 10 role.

"At the moment, the competition is between the two of them," the England boss explained when speaking about Bellingham and Rogers.

"They're friends, so it can be a friendly competition. They don't have to be enemies and hate each other. They fight at the moment for the same position."

What Tuchel said about Palmer's injury situation

Tuchel previously expressed his concerns over Palmer's lack of involvement in England's set-up due to the injury.

"He was only in the June camp," said the former Chelsea boss last month.

"That is concerning, of course.

IMAGO / Ulrich Hufnagel

"First of all, the most important thing is that he can play without pain, because the groin issue is a very dangerous one to become chronic.

""This is the most important thing. When he's fit and when he has rhythm and flow, he can decide matches on club level and, for sure, on international level. We know that."

Palmer is expected to make his return for Chelsea later this month.

Unfortunately for him, this international break is the last one until March, only a few months before the next summer's World Cup.