Cole Palmer, Ollie Watkins and Phil Foden have been ruled out of Lee Carsley’s first matches as interim England manager. The Euro 2024 runners-up head to the Republic of Ireland on Saturday before welcoming Finland to Wembley three days later as they begin life without Gareth Southgate. Carsley has been appointed on a temporary basis and named a 26‑man squad for the Nations League double‑header this month, but three players have had to pull out of his England selection. In a statement, the Football Association said: “Cole Palmer, Ollie ­Watkins and Phil Foden will play no part in England’s forthcoming Uefa Nations League fixtures. “The Three Lions squad reported to St George’s Park on Tuesday but, following assessment, both Palmer and Watkins returned to their clubs to continue rehabilitation for ongoing issues. Foden did not report through illness and is ruled out of the matches against Republic of Ireland and Finland. No further additions are planned at this moment in time.” England’s trip to the Aviva ­Stadium comes just 55 days after Southgate endured a narrow defeat in a second successive European Championship final. The manager called time on his eight-year reign shortly after the 2-1 defeat against Spain in Berlin, with Carsley, the England Under-21s coach, parachuted into the role as the FA seeks a permanent replacement. The 50-year-old, who represented the Republic of Ireland as a player, has been lined up take charge of all six Nations League matches this autumn. In his eye-catching first selection Carsley gave first senior call-ups to Noni Madueke, Morgan Gibbs-White, Tino Livramento and Angel Gomes. Harry Maguire and Jack Grealish return having missed Euro 2024, but Jude Bellingham and Luke Shaw are absent through injury.