Cole Palmer looks on during Chelsea's 2-1 defeat to Arsenal
Alan Pardew believes Thomas Tuchel was too harsh on Cole Palmer after the player withdrew from the England squad.
The Chelsea star was recalled by Thomas Tuchelfor hisNations Leaguesquad aftermissing out on the World Cupthis summer.
Cole Palmer dejected after the Euro 2024 final3
Palmer has missed six of Tuchel's eight England camps
However,the 24-year-old withdrew from the fixtures alongside Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo,Marcus RashfordandTino Livramento.
Palmer's absencedrew the most headlines, having played the full 90 minutes in Chelsea's 3-0 defeat at Brentfordthe week before.
It is the second occasion that the midfielder has been called up for England and pulled out since Tuchel took charge in 2025.
Additionally, the England international has also missed three England camps through injury.
The Manchester-born player struggled for fitness last season, which culminated in an underwhelming campaign for the player's usual standards as he finished with just ten goals.
The withdrawal resulted in the Three Lions manager saying Palmer is absent for 'way too many camps with injuries'.
He added: "For sure it's a missed opportunity [for Palmer]. It's another missed opportunity. He misses too many opportunities, and I don't blame him for it. It's just the fact.
"He misses way too many camps with injuries and I only want to rely on what I personally witness and what I see within my team, and for that you have to be in camp.
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"If you're not in camp, there's a next level to impress that you cannot achieve because you only can do it when you're actually with me on the pitch and with us on the pitch so, yeah, it is a missed opportunity.
"My understanding is that he plays with discomfort and pain, and he cannot compete on the highest level with discomfort and pain, so he withdrew and informed us and Chelsea informed us. That is my that is my understanding."
Cole Palmer runs for ball at Stamford Bridge during Chelsea vs Hull3
Palmer already has four goals and two assists this season
However, Pardew believes Tuchel's public comments on the player were unnecessary.
On talkSPORT's The Final Word, he said: "I mean Palmer might be the one who loses out in all of this. Definitely Thomas, I thought, threw him under the bus a little bit about it.
"He said ‘he's not in enough camps’, did he really need to underline that? Because everyone picked up on it.
"And it puts a lot of pressure on the boy, which I don't even think was necessary, but that's another story."
Who else has criticised Palmer?
Ahead of England's 3-2 defeat to Spain, Roy Keane was dismissive of the Chelsea midfielder's influence on the Three Lions and called out the player's 'bad habits'.
On ITV, he said: "Well, I think, whatever his injuries, and if he is injured… I watched his last game againstBrentfordand if you think he’s going to get England to another level and win trophies, forget about it.
Thomas Tuchel during an England press conference.3
Tuchel has had Palmer for just three England fixtures
"I like Palmer, he’s a talented boy, but he’s got far too many bad habits, for me."
Tuchel rejected the idea that England's team spirit was an issue, and said: "We are not managing load.
"When I was in club football, I used the term of an 'international break.' This is when you hear it on the other side a totally different picture.
"This is not an 'international break,' and I think that's what we created now. It's a competitive environment, but it's also an environment where the players love to be at when they walk through the door.
"Where they love to train with each other, be with each other. That's what togetherness and brotherhood looks like, and that's what we created latest from last September in qualification.
"We will never compromise on that and we will never let this creep in that that we have the feeling that players don't want to come. It's fair enough, but we focus on the guys who absolutely want to play for England."
Tuchel also mentioned the reformed international calendar which has changed from the three autumn international windows across September, October and November to a longer three-week spell which features four games in just 11 days.
He added: "No, I am not in favour of it. After a long tournament, to have another long period together is very demanding emotionally and physically for the players."