Arsenal's ruthless Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka outcome after North London Derby injury scare
For Premier League managers, the international break must involve watching their players in action with their fingers crossed. Like every game, players involved are at risk of injury, as found out by Arsenal over the last few days to hamper their North London Derby plans.
Riccardo Calafiori has now returned to the Emirates Stadium after picking up a calf injury during Italy's win over France on Friday night. But things have got even worse for Arsenal with club captain Martin Odegaard injuring his ankle in Norway's Nations League clash against Austria on Monday night.
The extent of the injury has not yet been outlined. But the midfielder has been spotted using crutches in the aftermath, which is not a good sign for Arsenal's hopes of him being available for the North London Derby.
The bad news for Arsenal is that international commitments for their players are not yet over. Both Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka could be in action for England when they take on Finland at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday night.
Both played 90 minutes of their 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland on Saturday afternoon, with Rice opening the scoring against the side he represented in three friendlies. Ahead of the game against Finland, interim manager Lee Carsley has said that he'll make "two or three changes" to his starting line-up, but those switch-ups are expected to come in defence.
Therefore, Rice and Saka could keep their starting positions and there's a possibility for them to play another 90 minutes. But is it good news for Arsenal?
It's not only the risk of picking up another injury over the international break that the full two games in three days poses, but also the risk of overloading players. There have been examples over the break of players pulling out of international duty to help manage their minutes at the start of the season.
Mikel Arteta must therefore ask the question of the FA and Carsley over the risk to both Rice and Saka. Emphasis should especially be put on Saka, with Rice having the weekend to rest up due to his suspension for the North London Derby - but he still remains at risk of overloading.
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In Saka's case, he will go straight from the Finland game into preparations for the trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium five days later. Champions League and Carabao Cup commitments mean that Arsenal are in action every midweek between now and the next international break.
While players not in international action get a weekend without games to rest, for Saka and Rice it will be back to action again. England take on Greece and Finland in mid-October before it's then back to Premier League action for Arsenal against AFC Bournemouth.
There has been much talk about the amount of football that players now have to play over a short periods of time. England and Arsenal will have to work together to manage the load of players, or more injuries could come about ruling them out of both domestic and international competitions.