England have announced that defender Marc Gehi will be leaving the team ahead of Sunday’s World Cup qualifier against Albania. The Crystal Palace centre-back missed Thursday’s win over Serbia due to a foot injury and is not expected to be fit for the final Group K game in Tirana.
He will return to the club for continued treatment and aims to be match-ready for next Saturday’s Premier League game against Wolves. Manager Thomas Tuchel decided not to call in any substitutes, leaving the squad to travel to Albania with 24 players. “Crystal Palace’s Marc Gehi has left the England camp and will not travel to Albania for Sunday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers,” the Football Association said in a statement.
“The defender joined up with the Three Lions at Tottenham Hotspur’s training ground earlier this week but has returned to the club to continue his rehabilitation.”
Guehi’s absence could see Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa and Manchester City’s John Stones continue to form a partnership, with Dan Byrne, Trevor Chalobah or Jarrell Quansah potentially standing in if Tuchel decides to make a change to replace the dead player.
Tuchel’s side are aiming to finish the qualifying period on a perfect note, having won their first seven games without conceding a goal.
With qualification for next summer’s World Cup assured, the German coach has just three games left to finalize his plans for the tournament.
Tuchel previously revealed that Guech had “no structural damage” to the foot injury he sustained during Palace’s 3-1 win over Dutch giants AZ in the UEFA Conference League.
“In Marc’s case, it’s very painful, but there’s no structural damage so it’s all about the pain,” Tuchel said on Wednesday. “You can see significant improvement overnight from one day to the next.
“So we are realistically working towards the second leg. If he is not training on Friday or Saturday, we will not let him travel, so he can remain in London rested and treated.”
“That’s nice. He wanted to be with us and we wanted him to be close. He’s one of the leaders, he’s an important member of the team, he’s an important glue between a lot of players and it’s great to see.”
“He’s doing everything he can to be available for Game 2 and we wanted to have that opportunity. That’s why we’re evaluating him every day.”
