England manager Gareth Southgate provides positive fitness update on Chelsea star ahead of friendly against Belgium

England boss Gareth Southgate has shared an encouraging update on Chelsea attacker Cole Palmer.

The Blues star - who arrived from Stamford Bridge last summer - trained with The Three Lions but missed their 1-0 friendly defeat to Brazil at the Wembley on Saturday (March 23).

However, as per The Mirror, Southgate said that Palmer is still part of the squad and could feature in the friendly with Belgium - also at the Wembley - on Tuesday:

"The two boys (Palmer and Jordan Henderson) trained today, so they’ve come through that okay. So they should join the group that will train tomorrow (Sunday), so we’ll go from there with that."

About the defeat to the Selecao, Southgate added:

"I’m not disappointed with the level of performance Iagainst Brazil). I know in the end when you lose a game there will always be a negative reaction towards losing, but I thought the 15 minutes to go, given all the changes we’d made, I thought the crowd were really with the team.

Palmer, 21, has played twice for England - both in their successful UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying campaign last year. He played a combined 35 minutes in the 2-0 home win over Malta and the 1-1 draw at North Macedonia.

What's next for Chelsea?

Chelsea have had an underwhelming season under new boss Mauricio Pochettino, who arrived last summer and oversaw an expensive overhaul.

The Blues have struggled in the league - where they languish in 11th place - with 10 games to go. Pochettino's side, though, have fared well in the cup competitions. After losing 1-0 to Liverpool in the EFL Cup final, they have reached the FA Cup semifinals, where they take on holders Manchester City next month.

They return to action after the ongoing international break with a Premier League home game with Burnley on March 30. Pochettino's side won the reverse fixture 4-1 in October on away turf.