Liverpool and Everton are already counting the cost of having 17 first team squad players on international duty.
With the Premier League back in action next weekend, so far Liverpool have come off worse with a number of players already ruled out.
Joe Gomez’s knee injury in training with England is the biggest blow.
He has undergone knee tendon surgery which means he is expected to miss a large majority of the season.
This leaves Liverpool with only one fit senior centre half in Joel Matip.
Mohamed Salah has tested positive for COVID-19 after visiting his brother’s wedding in Egypt, which means he will be unavailable for Liverpool’s match against Leicester next Saturday.
Sadio Mane is playing Guinea-Bissau home and away in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Naby Keita also has games home and away against Chad in the AFCON qualifiers.
Takumi Minamino is part of the Japan squad who will play two friendlies against Panama and Mexico with both of the games being played in Austria.
Gini Wijnaldum scored for the Netherlands against Bosnia last night (November 15) and also played in a 1-1 draw with Spain.
Diogo Jota with Portugal, Kostas Tsimikas with Greece and Xherdan Shaqiri with Switzerland are all expected to play.
Andy Robertson captained Scotland to Euro 2020 qualification against Marco Grujic’s Serbia after a 1-1 draw ended with a win on penalties for the Scots. This will be their first major tournament since 1998.
Harry Wilson started for Wales in their goalless draw against the USA with Neco Williams an unused substitute. They are both expected to be included in their next two fixtures against the Republic of Ireland and Finland.
Curtis Jones and Rhys Williams were both starters in England u21s win against Andorra and are both expected to play against Albania.
Harvey Elliott and Layton Stewart will join the under-19s for the training camp, as will Jarell Quansah with the under-18s.
Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored in England’s 3-0 win over the Republic of Ireland at Wembley, and made a substitute appearance in the 2-0 defeat in Belgium.
Michael Keane and Jordan Pickford also played in Belgium, Pickford is also expected to start at home to Iceland on Wednesday in what is now a dead rubber.
Tom Davies and Ben Godfrey have been included in the England under-21 squad.
Davies was an unused sub against Andorra in their 3-1 win. They will both look to feature against Albania on Tuesday.
Cenk Tosun scored in Turkey’s friendly against Croatia in a 3-3 draw and will be looking to repeat the feat against Russia and Hungary in the Nations League.
Lucas Digne started France’s shock 2-0 loss against Finland and will be looking to keep his place for the Nations League games against Portugal and Sweden.
Gylfi Sigurdsson’s goal wasn’t enough to help Iceland defeat Hungary in the Euro 2020 qualifier but he’ll hope to help his side in the Nations League against Denmark and England.
Seamus Coleman wasn’t in the squad to face England as he picked up a minor hamstring injury, the FAI confirmed. He hasn’t been withdrawn completely and could still face Wales and Bulgaria in the Nations League over the next week.
Alex Iwobi scored twice in Nigeria’s stunning 4-4 draw against Sierra Leone in their African Cup of Nations qualifier. He will hope to get back to winning ways in their next game against the West Africans.
Yerry Mina and James Rodriguez both started Colombia’s 3-0 loss to Uruguay, but only Rodriguez finished the match as Mina was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 90th minute. He will miss the next CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifier against Ecuador on Tuesday. James Rodriguez is expected to start.
Allan and Richarlison both started Brazil’s World Cup Qualifier win over Venezuela. They will be looking to maintain their starting berth against Uruguay on Tuesday.
Goalkeeper Robin Olsen was included in Sweden’s squad to face Croatia and France in the Nations League.
Nathan Broadhead was called up to Wales’ full team for the first time, whilst Ryan Astley and Rhys Hughes are both on standby. However, they are both included in the under-21 fixtures against Moldova and Germany.
Joao Virginia was called up to Portugal’s under-21 side for their games against Belarus and Cyprus.
(Image courtesy of Fars News Agency under creative commons licence)
