Xabi Alonso said he has no time to spend worrying about international call-ups for his players after Cole Palmer was omitted from the England’s Nations League squad.
The 24-year-old was not amongst the 26 players named by Thomas Tuchel for the matches against Croatia and Spain, following his withdrawal from the squad during the last international break in October.
Tuchel repeated his observation that Palmer “misses too many opportunities” to stake his England claims when he discussed his latest squad on Friday.
He was not selected for the World Cup during the summer following a season that was badly hit by injuries and loss of form.
“Everything takes time but time I’m very happy with his quality and his attitude and his impact on the rest of the team.”
Palmer was one of five players to withdraw from October’s England squad after it had been announced.
It prompted questions around his commitment to the national team, especially since he started both matches for Chelsea either side of the international break.
Asked whether there was regret that Palmer had not made himself available, Alonso said: “We haven’t talked about that. We are focused on our things, on Chelsea things, how to do better, how he can become more and more influential in games. Those are our topics.
“We speak about Chelsea. We speak about us. We have enough on our plate. We have enough to focus on each weekend.”
Alonso could have goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez available to return earlier than expected for the game at the Stadium of Light, following his surgery on the fractured jaw sustained during victory at Everton last month.
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Should he play, the Argentina international will wear a protective mask over his face, which Alonso joked came from a specialist and “not a Halloween shop.”
“[On Saturday] we have the last training session and we will decide,” he said. “He’s training well. Emi has made a great effort to be back. He’s been ahead of the plans to be part of the team.”
Moisés Caicedo will undergo a fitness test ahead of the match, although Alonso said it was not due to a recurrence of his recent calf injury.
“After the last game he had a little problem. We expect to check tomorrow. It’s a discomfort more than the calf.”
