Arsenal will return to Premier League action with a much-depleted squad after they were hit hardest by injuries during the dreaded international break.
There are several reasons why most football fans dislike international breaks – especially when they last three weeks – but chief among them is the fact they regularly leave their club’s best players injured.
It is usually the league’s top teams that are most affected because they have so many high-quality players at international level. And it is no different this time.
Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and the Gunners all ranked in the top four of the Premier League for the most players involved in international fixtures, including at Under-21, Under-20, Under-19, Under-18 and Under-17 level.
Meanwhile, Tottenham averaged the highest minutes played per player across all levels during the break. Their 12 players averaged 254.1 minutes of game time across a combined total of 38 matches played.
Arsenal left the Amex following a humbling 3-0 defeat last month with just one casualty, with Declan Rice pulling out of the England squad due to ‘load management’. Now potentially six of his team-mates are in need of the treatment table.
Piero Hincapie was the first to drop, missing the entire break, before Kai Havertz had to leave Jurgen Klopp’s first Germany camp after picking up a hamstring problem against the Netherlands.
Kai Havertz (pictured) was one of six Arsenal players to get injured during international break
Max Dowman, Ezri Konsa, Christos Tzolis and Martin Odegaard also sustained minor issues, but the latter of the trio returned to the pitch with Norway by the end of the break.
Liverpool were similarly unfortunate, with four of their big guns picking up knocks during their combined 51 matches played by their top-ranked 17 stars in action.
Alexander Isak was forced to take an early leave from Sweden duty after suffering a ‘minor injury’ during a 2-1 win over Romania, a game in which he scored. But there is hope he will return for the Reds’ monster clash with Manchester City on Sunday.
Jeremy Jacquet impressed on his full France debut against Italy, with new Les Bleus boss Zinedine Zidane so impressed that he stated the defender was ‘very good’ four times in a matter of moments. However, a ‘hamstring strain’ kept him out of their 4-1 win over Belgium this week, which is cause for concern for Andoni Iraola.
Fellow starters Cody Gakpo and Milos Kerkez are also doubts for the Anfield affair with City, after leaving their respective international teams early due to injury.
City themselves have plenty of scares with three of their stars picking up various problems during the break. The biggest concern for Enzo Maresca is that main man Erling Haaland appeared to hobble off during Norway’s defeat to Portugal.
Nico O’Reilly missed three of England’s four games due to a knock, while Rayan Ait-Nouri withdrew from the Algeria squad after their first game.
Neighbours Manchester United also have plenty to attend to, with their treatment tables starting to overflow.
Tottenham players averaged the most minutes played for their international teams during the three-week period
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Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo, Benjamin Sesko and Karl Darlow pulled out of international duty due to existing injury issues, and two players, Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui, have joined them on the list. Bruno Fernandes also picked up a niggle with Portugal but eventually returned to action.
Another among the biggest losers were Sunderland, who could do without injuries due to their first foray into Europe in 53 years, adding extra load onto their already thin squad.
Their biggest concern will be the fitness of star striker Brian Brobbey, who bagged a hat-trick away at Manchester City before the break, as he pulled up with a hamstring problem while on duty for the Netherlands. Dan Ballard suffered the same fate while playing for Northern Ireland and could be sidelined until the next international break.
Rock bottom Spurs, despite seeing their players feature the most, were one of the big winners during the break. They only lost one additional big star to injury, with Jan Paul van Hecke withdrawing from Netherlands duty after hurting his foot in a Nations League clash with Serbia.
However, starting right-back Pedro Porro was already on the injury list and withdrew from meeting up with his fellow Spanish world champion team-mates. He is a major doubt for their upcoming clash with United.
Meanwhile, Chelsea lost two further players, Mike Penders and Jamie Gittens, to knocks, while Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro will be hopeful for a return to action after missing international duty despite being called upon.
The real winners of the break are Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Ipswich, who lost no further players to injury. That is despite all three being ranked in the top ten for averaging the highest minutes played per player across all levels.
