LONDON — Bruno Fernandes, Cody Gakpo and Patrick Dorgu have joined a growing high-profile injury list during the extended Nations League break, with all three curtailing their involvement for Portugal, the Netherlands and Denmark respectively. Gakpo exited just 16 minutes into the Netherlands' 2-1 win against Serbia on Sunday holding the lower part of his right leg, while Dorgu limped off after 30 minutes in Denmark's 2-0 win against Wales on the same day.
Fernandes played in Portugal's win over Wales on Thursday but was not in the squad for Sunday's fixture against Norway. Prior to that match, boss Jorge Jesus said Fernandes had "played through the pain" against Wales and "wasn't his usual self," adding: "He played with an injury he brought from Manchester United. He really wanted to play against Wales." Gakpo, who has started the season well for Liverpool with two goals and four assists in six appearances across all competitions, was left grimacing after his early withdrawal.
The list extends beyond the trio. Liverpool striker Alexander Isak withdrew from Sweden duty with a minor thigh injury after playing the full 90 minutes and scoring in Sweden's 2-1 win over Romania on Friday in the Nations League, and will miss Sweden's remaining three matches in this break to be assessed by his club's medical staff. On Thursday, Arsenal forward Kai Havertz was caught on the knee by a high boot from Quinten Timber and replaced as the Netherlands drew with Germany in Amsterdam, while Sunderland forward Brian Brobbey — off the back of a hat-trick in Sunderland's 5-3 Premier League defeat by Manchester City — appeared to suffer a muscle injury in the same game. Sunderland were hit again as Dan Ballard suffered a hamstring injury late in Northern Ireland's 1-0 win over Georgia on Friday, with boss Michael O'Neill confirming he will miss the remaining fixtures in this break.
It is not just Premier League clubs affected. Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe has been ruled out for at least two weeks after injuring his knee while scoring the winner in Zinedine Zidane's first game in charge of France. He scored a record-extending 67th goal from Michael Olise's pass to sink Turkey, but was limping immediately and had to be replaced five minutes later. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala suffered a muscle injury during the warm-up for the game against the Netherlands and had to withdraw.
The injuries come during the first international break of the 2026-27 men's football season, which is lasting a week longer than usual with the traditional October break now scrapped. There is now a three-week gap for international fixtures across late September and early October, where countries will play four international matches instead of two, a schedule that follows Denmark's 2-0 win against Wales and has left several clubs monitoring key players.