Club managers fear one thing during international breaks: injuries.
While hectic traveling schedules and a loss of momentum are definitely byproducts of the break from club football, there’s nothing worse than sending a player off on international duty and seeing him return unable to slot straight back into the swing of things for his club.
Here are five players who have been injured during the latest international break and could miss time for their clubs.
Expected time out: Two weeks
Manchester United’s injury crisis in midfield has deepened following Marouane Fellaini’s withdrawal in the first half of Belgium’s clash against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday.
United are already missing Paul Pogba, and Michael Carrick is enduring a frustrating recovery from a knock that has been affecting him since the start of the season. Without Fellaini, Jose Mourinho only has Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera as senior midfielders to call upon – and United’s first game after the international break is the derby against Liverpool.
Fellaini will definitely miss that game, as Belgium said the midfielder will be out for “a couple of weeks”.
Fellaini’s injury compounds United’s crisis in midfield.
Expected time out: At least one week
France manager Didier Deschamps hasn’t been able to confirm the extent of the Chelsea midfielder’s injury after Kante came off in the first half on Saturday against Bulgaria. However, Deschamps has said he definitely won’t risk Kante for France’s final qualifier, against Belarus on Tuesday.
Chelsea will hope the reigning PFA Player of the Year isn’t facing a lengthy layoff, as the defending champions are already light in midfield with a busy run of fixtures coming up after the international break.
Kante has been pulled out of France’s final qualifier.
Expected time out: Unknown
Thiago played 90 minutes for Spain on Friday and even scored a goal during the Iberians’ 3-0 win over Israel, but he has since left the national team camp with an ankle injury suffered in training.
An injury to the midfield maestro will be the last thing new Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes wants, given how important the Spaniard is to the Bavarians’ playing style.
As of now, it’s not known how long Thiago will be out.
The extent of Thiago’s injury is unknown.
Expected time out: At least one week
It was revealed last month that the Liverpool centre-back has been taking pain-killing injections in order to play for the Reds, and injuries to his back and Achilles have eventually caught up to him.
He missed Croatia’s game against Finland on Friday, and will likely ruled out of the crucial qualifier against Ukraine.
Whether he’s kept out of the firing line for Liverpool is a different matter, given he’s been taking injections in order to play. Jurgen Klopp has seen his side deal with a number of defensive issues – and even a fully fit Lovren has been a part of the problem, in that regard – but having one out due to injury will nonetheless be a blow.
Lovren has a long-standing injury that could force him to miss time for Liverpool.amon
Expected time out: Unknown
The Barcelona forward’s injury is different from those of the rest of the players on this list, in that it’s not a new injury suffered in this particular break. Rather, it’s an updated diagnosis on an injury Suarez suffered in preseason. The Uruguay forward returned from that injury to play for Barcelona last month, but has looked ineffective for the Blaugrana so far – and the earlier injury may have something to do with it.
Reports from the Uruguay camp last week suggested that Suarez may be facing a prolonged spell on the sidelines, and could even require surgery on his knee, but he ultimately featured in their qualifier against Venezuela on Thursday and should be good to go for their final qualifying fixture, against Bolivia on Tuesday. But, long-term, the injury may require careful management by both club and country.
Suarez hasn’t fully recovered from an injury he suffered in preseason.
