Cole Palmer is the "victim" of a "sick" system that is expecting too much of players, according to Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Maheta Molango. Molango said Palmer's recent withdrawal from the England squad highlighted a match calendar that is unsustainable and has become the "survival of the fittest."

Five players – Palmer, Marcus Rashford, Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo and Tino Livramento - pulled out of Thomas Tuchel's squad ahead of the latest international window. "When England see five players who need to withdraw when the single most proud moment a player has is to be called up for the national team, you just ask yourself, what's wrong about the industry?" Molango said at the Fifpro performance summit in London.

Molango criticised Tuchel's stance that Palmer "misses too many opportunities," saying players love to play for England but "you cannot cheat biology." He pointed to other withdrawals including Germany's Kai Havertz, Dutch striker Brian Brobbey and France captain Kylian Mbappe.

Molango wants a mandatory three-week summer break and a three-week "retraining" period every summer. Premier League chief football officer Rebecca Caplehorn said she was supportive conceptually but it "doesn't fit into the current calendar" without regulatory change.