Premier League managers hate the international break – not only as they lose their players for weeks but also because of the risk of them coming back injured.
We are only a few days into this elongated international break and already, Premier League players have gone down injured, giving their club managers a headache.
The first man to fall was Arsenal’s Kai Havertz, who was forced off after a challenge from Quentin Timber, brother of Jurrien, on the 30-minute mark.
Germany manager Jurgen Klopp did not go into specifics but said it was a muscle injury and that Havertz would undergo an MRI scan on Thursday night.
Speaking about the Arsenal man, and Jamal Musiala who was injured in the warm-up, Klopp said both would likely be out for the rest of the international break.
“I hope we get the diagnosis [on Thursday] evening,” Klopp said. “But of course, this isn’t great. I hope it’s nothing serious.
“The lads are probably out for us. But hopefully, they’ll be back in action relatively quickly.”
Havertz has up to this point started every Premier League game for Arsenal with only Gabriel and David Raya having played more minutes for the Gunners.
Losing the German striker for any kind of prolonged period will be a big blow for Mikel Arteta who will likely have to go back to Viktor Gyokeres, a man who has played just 29 minutes of Premier League football this season and has clearly dropped down the pecking order.
Germany’s 1-1 draw with the Netherlands saw another Premier League player forced off after Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey appeared to tweak his hamstring.
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Just five minutes after Havertz left the field, Brobbey went down unchallenged and immediately signalled that he needed to be substituted.
Head coach Xavi said Brobbey’s international duty was over and that another striker would be called up, suggesting it is not a minor problem.
Brobbey has a similar level of importance to his team as Havertz does, as the striker has missed just 49 minutes of the 450 possible Premier League minutes so far this season for the Black Cats.
Behind him, Wilson Isidor has at least played more than Gyokeres but has one goal compared to Brobbey’s three. The fact Brobbey picked up an injury just after scoring a hat-trick will be of particular annoyance to Regis Le Bris.
The Sunderland boss will also be anxious about defender Dan Ballard, who pulled up with a hamstring injury in Northern Ireland’s win over Georgia.
Michael O’Neill confirmed the issue would be severe enough for Ballard to miss Northern Ireland’s remaining three games in the international break.
Another player who’ll play no further part in the international break – and this could be a good thing for the aforementioned Gyokeres – is Liverpool’s Alexander Isak, who has withdrawn from Sweden duty after scoring in their 2-1 win over Romania.
Liverpool couldn’t make the most of Isak in his first season with the club due to injuries, but this one doesn’t seem to be too serious.
“He’s got a small problem with his thigh,” head coach Graham Potter clarified. “It’s not a big one but because of the amount of games we’ve got in a small space of time, he won’t be able to make those.
“Not a big one, but frustrating for him, and obviously for us.”
These early injuries perhaps justify Cole Palmer and Declan Rice’s decision to skip international duty, citing ‘load management’.
Marcus Rashford, Tino Livramento and Kobbie Mainoo have also pulled out of England’s upcoming fixtures.
Premier League players injured on international duty
Kai Havertz – Arsenal (unspecified muscle)
Brian Brobbey – Sunderland (hamstring)
Dan Ballard – Sunderland (hamstring)
Alexander Isak – Liverpool (thigh)
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