Cole Palmer, Ollie Watkins and Phil Foden have been ruled out of Lee Carsley’s first matches as interim England manager.
The Euro 2024 runners-up head to the Republic of Ireland on Saturday before welcoming Finland to Wembley three days later as they begin life without Gareth Southgate. Carsley has been appointed on a temporary basis and named a 26-man squad for this month’s Nations League double-header, but three players have had to pull out of his England selection.
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In a statement, the Football Association said: “Cole Palmer, Ollie Watkins and Phil Foden will play no part in England’s forthcoming Uefa Nations League fixtures. The Three Lions squad reported to St George’s Park on Tuesday but, following assessment, both Palmer and Watkins returned to their clubs to continue rehabilitation for ongoing issues. Foden did not report through illness and is ruled out of the matches against Republic of Ireland and Finland. No further additions are planned at this moment in time.”
England’s trip to the Aviva Stadium comes just 55 days after Southgate suffered a narrow defeat in a second-successive European Championship final. The long-serving manager called time on his eight-year reign shortly after the 2-1 loss to Spain in Berlin, with Carsley, the England Under-21s coach, parachuted into the role as the FA seek a permanent replacement. The 50-year-old, who represented the Republic of Ireland as a player, has been lined up take charge of all six Nations League matches this autumn.
Carsley’s eye-catching first selection saw Noni Madueke, Morgan Gibbs-White, Tino Livramento and Angel Gomes given first senior call-ups. Harry Maguire and Jack Grealish return having missed Euro 2024, but Jude Bellingham and Luke Shaw are absent through injury.