England’s Palmer a ‘victim’ of ‘sick’ schedule, says PFA chief

Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Maheta Molango stated that Chelsea forward Cole Palmer is a "victim" of an unsustainable and "sick" match calendar. Speaking at the Fifpro performance summit in London, Molango highlighted that Palmer withdrew from Thomas Tuchel's England squad for load management alongside Marcus Rashford, Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, and Tino Livramento.

Molango called for a mandatory three-week summer break and a three-week retraining period, criticizing Tuchel's comment that Palmer misses too many opportunities. Premier League chief football officer Rebecca Caplehorn expressed conceptual support for the idea, but noted that delivering the six-week gap is not currently feasible without regulatory changes to the calendar.