Xabi Alonso REJECTS Thomas Tuchel's criticism of Cole Palmer's decision to withdraw from England squad as he insists Chelsea were right to take care of star themselves

· DailyMail

Alonso revealed how Palmer's injury concern was related to the groin problem which has previously plagued him as he confirmed he would be fit for the clash with Bournemouth.

Xabi Alonso insists Chelsea were right to take care of Cole Palmer themselves rather than send him away on England duty, despite Thomas Tuchel 's apparent annoyance at his withdrawal.

Alonso revealed how Palmer's injury concern was related to the groin problem which has previously plagued him, but also declared him fit for Saturday's visit of Bournemouth . Alonso added his other sidelined stars – Moises Caicedo, Joao Pedro, Reece James and Marco Palestra – are all available also. 'They have trained well and they are ready to go,' the Blues boss said.

Tuchel was critical of Palmer withdrawing at the beginning of the international break, saying he 'misses way too many camps' and that this was 'another missed opportunity'.

However, Alonso believes Chelsea were justified in reducing Palmer's risk, especially with others such as Bournemouth's Alex Scott injuring themselves while away.

> 'We were cautious, and he was cautious as well, he wanted to be,' Alonso said of Palmer. 'He wouldn't have played the way he wants to play. It's sometimes better to take a step back and wait until you feel better and do it the right way.

> 'There is always a risk. With Morgan (Rogers), there was a risk. Nothing happened. With Jamie (Gittens), there was a risk. We've lost him for a few weeks. With Cole, it was the right decision.'

Chelsea allowed Palmer to use the first two weeks of the international break to rest before having him return to training in the build-up to Bournemouth.

Asked whether Palmer was worried with Tuchel's take on his withdrawal, Alonso added: 'I don't know. He's been focused on training. He wants to feel good. He's still young in his career. He has been there, and I'm sure when he feels good and is playing good, he will be back.'

While Alonso insisted Palmer is now 'feeling better', he did reveal his problem was 'a little bit from the pubalgia he had'. That is the chronic groin injury which causes pain to those who have it and largely limited his influence in Chelsea's last subpar season.

During the break, Piers Morgan called Palmer a 'bottle job' for withdrawing from England duty. Alonso said about that: 'I don't know the comment and I don't know the guy.'

The return of Caicedo will give Chelsea as big of a boost as any of their other returning stars. Without his protection, their defence carry the worst record in the Premier League, having conceded 12 goals in five games to leave them sitting 10th.

As revealed by Daily Mail Sport earlier this week, Caicedo played a part in the first half of a behind-closed-doors friendly against Portsmouth on Saturday. Chelsea lost that game 2-0, and it is understood Palmer, Joao Pedro and James did not participate in that secret fixture.

However, they are all in contention for facing Bournemouth, who have not yet won in the Premier League under Marco Rose. The German was the head coach of RB Leipzig when they ended the 35-match unbeaten run secured in the Bundesliga by Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen.

> 'We are all happier when we see Moi on the pitch,' Alonso added on Caicedo. 'Not just myself, but his team-mates, they are happier. Everyone loves Moi because of how generous he is with his effort, how much he helps each of his team-mates, how important he is. Everyone is really happy.'

Read the original

People in this story

Related