We’ll be bringing you some comprehensive injury round-ups for Gameweek 13 later in the week.
In the meantime, here is the latest fitness news on a select few Premier League players who are – or were due to be – representing their countries in the November international break.
We’re over the halfway point of said break, with more matches to come on Monday and Tuesday.
ERLING HAALAND
You’ll have no doubt noticed the flag on Erling Haaland (£14.0m) by now.
The Manchester City striker injured his ankle during the 2-0 friendly victory over the Faroe Islands on Thursday.
He then withdrew from the Norway squad ahead of their Euro 2024 qualifier against Scotland on Sunday.
In a tweet posted on Saturday, Haaland himself said:
“Unfortunately, I am missing tomorrow’s game against Scotland. Wishing the boys all the best. Now treatment and trying to get back asap.”
Meanwhile, Norway head coach Stale Solbakken appeared to downplay the severity of the issue – and didn’t rule out the possibility that Haaland might have featured against Scotland had there been anything meaningful hinging on the result.
“It’s a big blow for any team but we have played without him before, sometimes with success, sometimes without. We started the qualification when he was not ready for the first two games but after that, he has played every single game so it was unfortunate for us that he got the small knock on Thursday.
“It’s the movement in his foot that is the problem but it’s not a serious injury. Had it been a final, I don’t know (if he would have been fit to play).
“All parties agree it is probably a little too early (for him to play) but it is not a career-threatening injury.” – Stale Solbakken on Erling Haaland’s injury
SON HEUNG-MIN
Son Heung-min (£9.7m) needed treatment on his ankle near the end of South Korea’s thrashing of Singapore on Thursday.
But the Tottenham Hotspur attacker has since shrugged off the suggestion that he is injured, indicating that he will be fit to face China in another World Cup qualifier next Tuesday.
“We are making a team for the World Cup, I can’t give up a game just because I feel pain.
“If I can’t run anymore, then I can’t do anything about it but when I can run, I have to give 100% for the team.
“I am fine now, I don’t like to lie down [on the pitch] in the winter. At that moment, I couldn’t feel anything on my foot. I’m fine, no injury.” – Son Heung-min
KAORU MITOMA + EVAN FERGUSON
Kaoru Mitoma (£6.6m) pulled out of the Japan squad earlier this week, although the exact injury wasn’t specified.
It mirrors his withdrawal from his national team squad for similarly vague reasons in October; he then went and played 90 minutes against Manchester City in his first match back.
This time, however, The Athletic’s Andy Naylor suggests that the winger is likely to miss Saturday’s trip to Nottingham Forest.
In a statement issued jointly with the Japan Football Association, Mitoma said this week:
“Since this is a World Cup qualifier I joined the team believing in my potential to contribute.
“But unfortunately, seeing as I won’t be able to play at 100 per cent, I’ve decided to let my teammates play on my behalf, as much as I regret doing so.
“For now, I will work hard on recovering as soon as possible.” – Kaoru Mitoma
Mitoma’s team-mate, Evan Ferguson (£6.1m), recovered from the back injury that kept him out of Gameweek 12 to make the Republic of Ireland’s starting XI on Saturday.
But the striker was then replaced after 55 minutes, a new hamstring injury being reported.
KIERAN TRIPPIER, FABIAN SCHAR, MIGUEL ALMIRON + CALLUM WILSON
Kieran Trippier (£7.0m) withdrew from the England squad on Sunday – but there’s no injury concern this time, as the Newcastle United defender has exited the camp for personal reasons.
And there’s seemingly better news concerning Fabian Schar (£5.2m), too. Having missed Switzerland’s clash with Israel on Wednesday, he was back on the bench for Saturday’s draw with Kosovo.
Miguel Almiron (£6.3m), who pulled out of the Paraguay squad, should also be fit for Gameweek 13 if reports are to be believed about the severity (a “grade I”) of his injury.
But Callum Wilson (£7.9m), who preceded Trippier in withdrawing from England duty, is more of a concern. A four-to-six-week timeline of recovery has been reported by some media outlets.
Away from international withdrawals, there have been some cautiously optimistic reports on medium-term absentee Sven Botman (£4.6m) in the last few days.
JARROD BOWEN + MICHAIL ANTONIO
Gareth Southgate confirmed on Sunday night that Jarrod Bowen (£7.7m) has been forced to pull out of the England squad ahead of the UEFA European Championship qualifier against North Macedonia.
The West Ham winger, the most-bought player of Gameweek 13 so far, suffered knee discomfort in training on Saturday.
Assessment is still to come but Southgate doesn’t think it’s a serious issue.
“Unfortunately, Jarrod picked up an injury, I think he felt it a little bit yesterday and then again at the end of training today.
“We didn’t really have enough time to assess it fully and make a really accurate decision before the game so we felt better to leave him in England so that he can get it properly assessed.
“I don’t think it’s going to be anything serious but we just didn’t have enough time and we wouldn’t take a risk in that situation.” – Gareth Southgate on Jarrod Bowen
There had been some Bowen-relevant news emerging from the Jamaica camp earlier in the day, with Michail Antonio (£5.8m) limping out of their Nations League game against Canada after just 20 minutes. A hamstring injury of unknown severity has been reported.
Bowen started up front, with Antonio benched, in West Ham’s win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
ANDRE ONANA + MARCUS RASHFORD
Andre Onana (£4.8m) will be absent for at least one Gameweek in January thanks to Africa Cup of Nations involvement.
But there are fears he may be unavailable sooner than that after he limped out of Cameroon’s World Cup qualifying win over Mauritius with a shoulder problem.
Media reports initially suggested Onana’s injury is not serious but he has since withdrawn from his national team’s squad.
Marcus Rashford (£8.6m) looks to be fine, despite exiting England’s win over Malta on the same evening after colliding with a team-mate.
“I think he [Rashford] is probably okay. We just thought given the nature of the collision it was a chance to get Cole into the game. I haven’t assessed too much but I think he was okay when he came off.” – Gareth Southgate
Rashford, indeed, has trained on Sunday.
DESTINY UDOGIE
The flag against Destiny Udogie‘s (£4.8m) name doesn’t sound like it will be much of a concern either.
The left-back’s exclusion from the Italy squad sounds precautionary in nature – and indeed against the wishes of the player himself.
“Unfortunately, in the match against Sheffield United at home, Destiny had a flexor problem.
“Tottenham did everything they could to get him back for the Chelsea game, which was also a poor match: he played 60 minutes before being sent off. Afterwards, it was deemed appropriate not to risk it as there would be been a risk of relapse.
“Destiny, until the last moment, tried to convince the Tottenham staff that the national team was something exceptional for him. He is a 20-year-old who told me, ‘We want to be part of history, to be part of this group in the run up of the Euros is to be part of history’.” – Stefano Antonelli, Udogie’s agent
EDERSON, MATEO KOVACIC, MATHEUS NUNES + NATHAN AKE
We’ve already reported on one City injury – and there are four others to discuss ahead of the visit of Liverpool.
Reports suggest that Mateo Kovacic (£4.8m) will be out for 2-3 weeks with a quad injury.
Nathan Ake (£5.0m) pulled out of the Netherlands squad after missing Gameweek 12 through injury, while Ederson (£5.5m) then withdrew from the Brazil squad on Tuesday due to a foot problem. The following day, Portugal said that Matheus Nunes (£4.9m) had been “declared clinically unfit” because of a muscle issue.
RASMUS HOJLUND, CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN + DIOGO DALOT
Returning to Manchester United, the Red Devils could be without Christian Eriksen (£5.9m) and Rasmus Hojlund (£7.1m) in Gameweek 13.
Both pulled out of Denmark’s squad for this week’s Euro 2024 qualifiers after picking up issues last weekend.
Eriksen has a knee injury that is set to keep him out for around a month, while Hojlund suffered a muscle strain and should return “before the end of November”.
Diogo Dalot (£5.0m) has also left the Portugal camp but like Trippier, only did so because of personal reasons.
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