PFA chief defends Cole Palmer after England withdrawal and calls for protected summer break

Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Maheta Molango has defended Cole Palmer following the Chelsea forward's withdrawal from England duty, arguing that the demands of the match calendar are damaging player availability. Speaking at a Fifpro performance summit in London, Molango called for stronger protection for players' recovery time, BBC Sport reported on Tuesday.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTQJBpu5pYc

Molango challenged the response to Palmer's absence and said withdrawals should prompt scrutiny of football's scheduling rather than doubts about players' desire to represent their countries. He also cited Germany's Kai Havertz, the Netherlands' Brian Brobbey and France captain Kylian Mbappe as examples of the issue extending beyond England. His comments followed repeated warnings from the PFA and Fifpro about workloads.

Palmer was one of five players to leave Thomas Tuchel's squad, alongside Marcus Rashford, Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo and Tino Livramento. BBC Sport's earlier reporting said England's medical staff and their counterparts at the clubs agreed to the withdrawals. Morgan Gibbs-White and James Garner were subsequently called up, having also missed selection for England's World Cup squad.

Tuchel had described Palmer's absence as another lost opportunity to establish himself in the national team. However, the England manager also acknowledged that the forward had been playing in pain and said he did not blame him. Tuchel explained that attending camps mattered because he wanted to assess players directly within his own squad, rather than rely only on their club performances.

Palmer, 24, had been recalled after being left out of the World Cup. According to the BBC's report on the withdrawals, he had started six of Chelsea's first seven matches of the season, contributing four goals and two assists. Separate BBC reporting on September 25 said he was working through an injury-specific training programme abroad with a Chelsea rehabilitation coach.

Molango's proposed safeguard is a compulsory three-week summer holiday followed by three weeks of retraining. Premier League chief football officer Rebecca Caplehorn supported the principle but said the existing calendar could not accommodate that uninterrupted period. She said changes to both scheduling and regulations would be needed to make the six-week window possible; no such arrangement was announced.