Three-week international break draws criticism as injury list grows ahead of domestic return
The first international break of the 2026-27 season is nearing its end after an extended three-week pause and has produced a mounting injury list, with Manchester City striker Erling Haaland limping off in Norway's match against Portugal and now an injury doubt.
Fifa introduced a three-week international window across late September and early October, reducing the number of seasonal breaks from five to four and replacing the usual two-week gaps; the change was linked to player welfare and the late scheduling of the 2026 World Cup final on 19 July. The shift was also presented as a way to reduce long-haul travel for players, including those from Africa and South America who play club football in Europe, but fans have complained about the interruption to the domestic season.
On Monday it was announced that Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott had withdrawn from the England squad with a thigh injury and the Cherries are unhappy with the way they believe England handled the injury. Manchester City striker Erling Haaland asked to be substituted on 67 minutes, subsequently limping off in Norway's match against Portugal on Sunday before leaving camp on Monday while club team-mate Nico O'Reilly returned to City for further assessment. Following the injury to Haaland, the Norwegian players' union (NISO) expressed concern over the increased demands. "Over time, we have seen a worrying trend where the burden on top players has become far too high," NISO chief Kristoffer Vatshaug said. "We want clearer guidelines for workload and recovery. It is about the time between matches, consecutive rest periods, travel strain and how much time players get to recover after a long season."
Liverpool duo Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak have both picked up injuries, with Gakpo withdrawing from the Netherlands squad with an ankle injury and Isak pulling out of Sweden duty with a minor thigh injury. Portugal boss Jorge Jesus revealed Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes had been playing through pain, while Sunderland's Dan Ballard and Brian Brobbey both sustained hamstring problems. There remain three days of international fixtures to be played and club managers will be hoping no further names are added to the growing list.
England's Tino Livramento, Kobbie Mainoo, Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford and Declan Rice all pulled out of Thomas Tuchel's squad before the start of the break. Tuchel, who has been critical of the three-week window, said in a news conference on Monday: "I can assure everyone that player welfare is priority number one. "But new training styles and training times, different positions to play maybe, increase the chance of injury." On whether the extended break has had an impact on injuries, he said "we need to get the numbers right" before deciding. "Is it really more or is it the same amount [of games] as in two shorter little windows? I don't have the answer to that," he said.
Outside the English game, Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe sustained an injury while on duty with France and Barcelona's Raphinha returned from Brazil with a thigh injury.
Supporter reaction published alongside the report reflected frustration with the longer break. Shay, Swindon said: "I don't think any Premier League or Championship fan backs this idea. It's just boring without your club in action for so long." James McCreadie wrote: "Fans are getting sick and tired of losing players to what is a glorified friendly. Teams in Europe and Carabao Cup have nine games in 28 days or so before the next international break. Hope clubs pull players out, citing that player welfare comes first." Matt, York added: "The amount of injuries during this break, most of them muscular, including the usually extremely robust Erling Haaland surely highlights it has been a mistake of an experiment. Whoever thought it a good idea after a long World Cup summer needs to be in for a performance review." Kelvin Thomas said: "Too many players are being withdrawn due to injuries. But I am sure they will make a miraculous recovery when back at there clubs. Even with them gone England will win (bring it on)." James commented: "Revealing that players came to camp with minor issues highlights the pointed comments about Cole Palmer (and I'm sure others) who seem to value their club more than country. Last chance saloon for a few of them come next internationals."
The break has also provided opportunities for supporters to watch other matches, with some women's teams using larger men's stadiums and lower-league clubs filling television slots. Across the 11 games played in League One and League Two on Saturday – nine postponed because of international call-ups – only three had attendances less than their home average for the season. In the WSL, five of the seven games played over the weekend had a higher attendance than the home club's season average.
Players are due to return to domestic action from Friday, while England face the Czech Republic on Tuesday.
