Palmer’s season has been interrupted by a groin injury that he has been managing. But Tuchel has seen encouraging signs from him for Chelsea in recent weeks and now expects the forward to push his case for England.
“We saw good data lately, I saw him live against Arsenal and for the first time in a long time, I had the feeling his stride was back to the original lengths,” said Tuchel. “Before I felt he was not free and the stride was not long enough, the acceleration was not there and the movement was not free.
“I got the feedback from him and the feedback from Chelsea was that he felt during this game he was much, much better and he had a very strong game against Aston Villa with a huge physical output that we could see and from there, that was the first step.
“Before, we saw the physical output matching the impression we had that was lacking something but he is back to full confidence and we see it in training. He is not pulling out or holding back. At the same time that is what we wanted. We have had four training sessions and he needs to show up. He cannot hold back. He needs to understand he fights for his place and we will not hand anything to anyone on a silver platter, and he did this in a very nice way in exactly the right way.”
‘A huddle with a ref in the middle is awkward’
Palmer was one of a group of players to be given a bib for England’s final training session before the Uruguay game. The others were Tino Livramento, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Djed Spence, James Garner, Adam Wharton, Noni Madueke, Marcus Rashford and Dominic Solanke. Stones, however, is a doubt because of a calf issue, which could hand an opportunity to Fikayo Tomori.
Tuchel did not shy away from the fact that this camp represents a last chance for some of his players. He has already decided which of those will leave the squad to create space for the 11 who have been given a rest before reporting for duty on Saturday.
“That is the reality,” said Tuchel. “We address the reality and encourage everyone to be the best version of themselves and to enjoy it. It is the last camp before the World Cup. That’s just how it is, and everyone tries to impress.
“We encourage them to be good team-mates and be positive, train with a positive attitude, and connect as fast as possible, because some of them are new, some of them haven’t been in camp for quite a long time. And everyone did this. Very positive about these days together. And hopefully we can show it.
“It will be a new line-up, a new mix of teams. It is not always easy. And then suddenly you get the chance. Everything is new, not only for yourself but for your team-mates and you. And this is not always easy but we take it into consideration and go from there, and at the moment we are very positive. Hopefully they can show it.”
Tuchel was at Stamford Bridge earlier this month when Palmer was one of the Chelsea players who huddled around referee Paul Tierney before the home defeat by Newcastle United.
On the subject of whether England players will conduct on-pitch huddles ahead of World Cup games this summer, Tuchel said: “I’m not involved in the huddle and I don’t even know what we do at the moment. Do we do one? But a huddle with a referee in the middle is, for sure, awkward! We will not go for that!”