Palmer has confirmed his withdrawal from the England squad due to injury, prompting veteran journalist and pundit Adrian Durham to question Palmer's commitment to the national team.

Palmer was called up by Tuchel for UEFA Nations League matches against Spain, the Czech Republic, and Croatia. This was Tuchel's first recall of Palmer since his absence from the 2022 World Cup.

However, despite playing the full 90 minutes in Brentford's 3-0 victory over Chelsea on Friday, Palmer withdrew from the national team camp. Alongside Palmer, Rice, Livramento, Mainoo, and Rashford all returned to their clubs due to injury concerns. Gibbs-White and James Garner were subsequently called up to the England squad for the upcoming Nations League matches.

Durham was unhappy with Palmer's decision to withdraw from the England squad, voicing his displeasure on Monday afternoon during an appearance on the Hawksbee & Jacobs show.

Speaking about Palmer, Durham said: "I'm starting to question Palmer's focus on the England team. He's earned 14 caps and scored 2 goals. He's only played in one World Cup qualifier in his career, and he performed poorly away to Andorra."

"Since scoring in the Euro final, he's only played 5 matches for England. England has played 28 matches since the Euro 2024 final."

"If a player isn't fully fit, I can accept that—I understand. If it's genuinely an injury preventing his selection, then that's fine, I completely understand."

"I'm very sympathetic to injured players, but let me repeat these statistics: since the Euro final, he's played 5 matches for England—just 5 out of 28."

Durham then pressed Palmer for answers, questioning whether he truly wants to play for England.

Durham said: "I question his dedication to the England team. Does he really want to play for England? If not, then tell the world that you don't want to play for England.

"Because if you're only choosing to play for England when you feel like it, that actually affects other number 10s, like Gibbs-White, like James Maddison, who might also want to play for England.

"We all agree Palmer is a very good player. But apart from that goal in the Euro final, I've hardly ever seen him consistently demonstrate any quality or commitment.

"So let Palmer speak for himself. Do you really want to play for England?"

Meanwhile, talkSPORT presenter Jamie O'Hara believes Palmer should tell Chelsea's medical staff to "back off" and represent his country regardless.

He said on Monday morning's Breakfast show: "Medical staff have tried to tell me, 'No, you can only play 60 minutes.'"

"So why not say no to them? Why not say, 'I'm responsible for my own destiny. I'm responsible for my own career. You're not responsible for my career—I am.'"

"And then Palmer should say, like a man, 'Look, I've been sidelined, I missed the England squad last season through injury, I missed the World Cup through injury, and I wasn't at my best when I returned.'"

"'Now I'm fit and ready to play. Tuchel has called me up, and I'm going. Even if you tell me not to go, I'm still going. I'll drive to St George's Park because I want to play for England.'"

"'You can't tell me that someone managing my workload can decide that I can't play for my national team.'"

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