The international injuries keep coming thick and fast as the extended September/October break almost reaches its end.
While Erling Haaland (£15.6m) looks to have avoided injury, despite an early exit from Norway’s UEFA Nations League match on Sunday, there isn’t such good news for Arsenal and Bournemouth.
Tottenham Hotspur seem to have escaped after a further defensive scare, at least.
KONSA RETURNS TO ARSENAL
It’s been a rollercoaster international break for Ezri Konsa (£4.6m) and his owners in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Konsa was sidelined (as a non-playing substitute) for last Tuesday’s win over Czechia with a muscular niggle.
He then returned to action and started Saturday’s 7-0 win over Croatia, lasting 90 minutes.
However, he has now departed the England camp with a knock and returns to Arsenal “for further assessment”.
Thomas Tuchel made it sound fairly precautionary when facing the media on Monday.
“Ezri felt discomfort when he came into camp, played with discomfort against Spain, and it got a bit worse. He stayed in camp and tried everything for the match in Czechia, that came too soon, and he tried everything for the match in Croatia and gave a green light. He finished all the training sessions in between and was ready to play.
“Unfortunately, he got another hit on the quad, it caused a little bit of light trauma and we decided to not let him play through this pain and discomfort again. So, he left camp to get treatment for both of his issues now, but I think nothing major but not worth the risk taking.
“We were happy with the attitude that he showed to stay in camp and be ready for Croatia and have a good match but unfortunately, like I said, he picked up another one in the match. But from a knock, not a muscle injury or something.” – Thomas Tuchel on Ezri Konsa
Cristhian Mosquera (£5.3m), Piero Hincapie (£5.2m) and Ben White (£5.5m) have at least returned to Arsenal training.
SCOTT SET FOR WEEKS, POSSIBLE TWO MONTHS, OUT
Alex Scott (£6.1m), FPL’s 10th-highest-scoring midfielder, faces a spell on the sidelines with a quad injury.
The England international apparently felt discomfort before Saturday’s thrashing of Croatia but played through the pain to star for the Three Lions in the engine room.
Now, however, the full magnitude of the issue has come to light.
🚨 Alex Scott out of England squad & returning to Bournemouth through injury. 23yo shone on 1st #ENG start but now sidelined by quadriceps issue; checks ongoing amid fears of 2mnth absence. Blow to midfielder + #AFCB with Kroupi also missing @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/r4TovZzxeK
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) October 5, 2026
Sky’s Rob Dorsett suggests “weeks rather than months”, with the BBC reporting 6-8 weeks.
We could be looking at the other side of the November international break for Scott’s return, then, with the Gameweek 11 visit of Nottingham Forest perhaps the earliest we’re going to see him back.
£5.0m pair Lewis Cook and/or Ryan Christie could get a run in the Cherries’ side, with Justin Kluivert (£6.0m) and Eli Kroupi (£7.4m) also out. Christie started in the ’10’ position in Gameweek 5.
VAN DE VEN AVOIDS SERIOUS INJURY
Having already seen Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.9m) return from international duty with the Netherlands with an injury, Tottenham Hotspur will have been concerned that compatriot Micky van de Ven (£5.0m) was going to follow suit.
Van de Ven exited after 89 minutes of Sunday’s Nations League victory over Serbia, having had his left hand accidentally stepped on.
However, the prognosis seems positive for the Dutchman.
“He’s okay, he felt dizzy because he suffered in the finger, it’s not a big injury.” – Netherlands boss Xavi on Micky van de Ven, via Football London
