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The 19 Chelsea players confirmed for international duty as Maresca sweats on further injury scare

Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer are on England international duty this month
-Credit: (Image: Chris Lee - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)


Domestic football is once again on pause as the second international break of the 2024/25 season takes place. Enzo Maresca's Chelsea side have made a very promising start to the new term and many would have liked the Blues to carry on playing rather than facing a two-week break.

Fresh from last Sunday's 1-1 draw at home to Nottingham Forest, Chelsea return to Premier League action on Sunday, October 20 with a mouth-watering game against Liverpool on the calendar. Maresca is going to have to do without both Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana for the game at Anfield due to suspension.

All at Chelsea will be keeping their fingers crossed that there are no more absences for the Liverpool fixture over the next fortnight. A total of 19 Chelsea players will be representing their respective nations in this month's international fixtures and Maresca will be praying all of them return with a clean bill of health.

football.london runs you through the Chelsea players who will be playing international football in October.

England

Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke and Levi Colwill are Chelsea's representatives in Lee Carsley's England squad for their UEFA Nations League fixtures against Greece and Finland. As Palmer was not in the Three Lions squad in September due to injury, all eyes will be on his place in Carsley's plans as he wasn't a regular starter under Gareth Southgate.

Another start in an England shirt could come Colwill's way and Madueke, who limped off against Nottingham Forest but has not withdrawn from the England squad when three others have, will be determined to win his second senior cap after coming off the bench against Finland.

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France

Fofana's fine start to the season for Chelsea has been rewarded with a call-up to Didier Deschamps' France squad. It is the first time the centre-back has been selected by his country since June 2023 after his injury torment since making his debut in the win over Gibraltar.

Christopher Nkunku's last involvement in the France squad was also in those Gibraltar and Greece games in the summer of 2023. The attacker may not be a regular for Chelsea in the Premier League but Deschamps has acknowledged his great start to the season by giving him the nod for their matches against Israel and Belgium.

Portugal

Renato Veiga will be hoping to make his international bow for Portugal this month after finding himself as an unused substitute for the games against Croatia and Scotland in September. Joao Felix and Pedro Neto are also in Roberto Martinez's squad to face Poland and Scotland and they really could do with a strong international break as they currently find themselves as Chelsea substitutes in the Premier League.

Spain

Robert Sanchez may have missed out on Spain's successful Euro 2024 campaign but he is back in the frame for his national team after making the past two squads. It's hard to see where he is going to get minutes from in the Denmark and Serbia fixtures, though, as David Raya and Alex Remiro of Real Sociedad are also in the squad.

Sanchez joins clubs teammate Cucurella in the Spain party for their UEFA Nations League games.

Ukraine

Mykhailo Mudryk really needs to shine during the international break with minutes here and there coming his way at Chelsea. Georgia and Czech Republic are on the agenda for Ukraine before domestic football resumes.

Argentina

Enzo Fernandez will be getting the air miles in over the next ten days or so with Argentina facing Venezuela and Bolivia in World Cup qualifiers. The World Cup holders currently top the South American qualifying table and they will be looking to keep it that way.

Ecuador

Moises Caicedo is another who will be doing a lot of travelling with Ecuador hosting Paraguay before making the trip to Uruguay in their World Cup qualifiers.

Senegal

Nicolas Jackson will be hoping to break his duck for Senegal during the latest round of international games. Yet to get on the scoresheet in 15 attempts, the frontman will have opportunities in two games against Malawi.

Denmark Under-21s

Filip Jorgensen has so far had to contend with minutes in the cup competitions since making the move to Chelsea from Villarreal. Denmark Under-21s just have the one match on the calendar this break with a home clash against Iceland.

Finland Under-21s

Lucas Bergstrom will also have the opportunity to get some game time under his belt as Finland Under-21s face Switzerland and Montenegro.

France Under-21s

Making his senior debut for France against Netherlands 12 months ago, Malo Gusto has yet to get the nod for Les Bleus since. The right-back is part of France's Under-21s squad for their games against Cyprus and Austria, though.

Italy Under-21s

Cesare Casadei won't have to travel too far this month with Italy Under-21s only facing the one game at home to the Republic of Ireland.

Spain Under-19s

The games are going to come thick and fast for Marc Guiu, though. The striker is part of the Spain Under-19s squad for their upcoming fixtures against Germany, Norway and Romania, all of which are played in Romania.