Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers checking their teams this week may find several of their players flagged as Gameweek 12 injury doubts.

From players withdrawing from their squads to those injured while on duty, the latest international break has led to concerns around a number of popular picks.

This is not an unusual situation and while some injuries turn out to be serious, others withdrawals turn out to be precautionary.

England captain Harry Kane hinted at this in an interview last week, amid news nine squad members had pulled out because of fitness issues. He said:

“England comes before anything. England comes before club, England is the most important thing you play as a professional footballer and Gareth [Southgate] was hot on that and he wasn’t afraid to make decisions if that started to drift from certain players.

“It’s a shame this week. Obviously it’s a tough period of the season and maybe that’s been taken advantage of a little bit. I don’t really like it if I’m totally honest, like I said I think England comes before anything, any club situation.”

Below, we take a look at the latest on some of the most important players from a fantasy perspective.

Check out our team news and predicted lineups article on Thursday and Friday for full updates from every club press conference before Gameweek 12.

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Cole Palmer

Palmer played a full part in Chelsea’s game against Arsenal in Gameweek 11, despite being a doubt following a heavy challenge in the Manchester United match the previous week.

He did not join up with the England squad, leading FPL to set him as a doubt for Leicester on Saturday.

There’s been no further updates on his condition, although the fact he has played since sustaining the original injury should bring hope to the 53.5% who own him.

Cole Palmer

Bryan Mbeumo

Mbeumo reportedly withdrew from the Cameroon squad ahead of their two games in the break, as did Brighton’s Carlos Baleba.

Cameroon head coach Mark Brys spoke about giving fringe players a chance to impress amid injuries and having already qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations.

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There has been no official word on Mbeumo, who Brys said was ‘injured’, although the possibility of a minor foot knock in Brentford’s Gameweek 11 match has been reported.

Mbeumo played the full 90 minutes against Bournemouth, so again hopefully he will be fine for the weekend.

Bryan Mbeumo’s stats

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Alexander-Arnold is of greater concern, with the 26.5% owned full-back going off in the first half against Aston Villa.

Ahead of the break, the Times’s Paul Joyce said the Liverpool defender’s hamstring injury would likely keep him out for a couple of weeks.

A return against Southampton on Sunday was not ruled out, although Arne Slot may not want to risk him ahead of the Reds’ Champions League tie against Real Madrid next week.

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Trent Alexander-Arnold

Bukayo Saka

Saka was among the England absentees, having come off in the 81st minute against Chelsea.

Mikel Arteta said it didn’t ‘look good’ for Saka and Declan Rice, who was also struggling with a toe problem ahead of the match.

The duo did not travel with England but there has been no further news about either players’ condition.

Arteta may or may not provide a helpful update on their condition later this week, with the Spaniard not renowned for detailed updates on his squad.

Keep a quote from Oleksandr Zinchenko’s book Believe in mind, when he said Arteta liked to ‘play games with the opposition’:

“I’ve seen him tell injured players to come on the team bus and walk into the dressing room with their wash bag, to put the other manager off the scent.”

Bukayo Saka’s stats

Antoine Semenyo

Bournemouth midfielder Semenyo was another who didn’t make international duty.

The Ghana international’s football association reported that he was ‘nursing an injury of the patella tendon due to overload of games’.

It added that Semenyo had been referred to a tendon specialist to prevent worsening of the issue.

This might be something that is managed through rest – and the 10.2% owned budget pick may not miss Gameweek 12.

Nevertheless, Andoni Iraola’s press conference will be an important one for Semenyo owners to monitor.

Antoine Semenyo

Yoane Wissa

Wissa recently returned to the Brentford lineup after recovering from an ankle injury.

He pulled out of Congo’s internationals, with injury cited as the reason.

Thomas Frank’s press conference will be eagerly awaited, given the doubt over Mbeumo’s fitness too.

Yoane Wissa’s form

Jamie Vardy

Vardy retired from international football in 2018 so was not in the mix for England, however he was ruled out of Gameweek 11 with a back injury.

Steve Cooper will hope to be able to welcome the 9.2% owned striker back for Gameweek 12, especially given Abdul Fatawu and Jordan Ayew picked up problems while playing for their countries. Facundo Buonanotte is also suspended.

Jamie Vardy

Leandro Trossard

Trossard limped off while playing for Belgium on Sunday, adding to Arteta’s potential injury list.

That list includes Saka and Rice, and Ben White is expected to be out for a number of weeks after reportedly undergoing minor knee surgery.

Riccardo Calafiori was on the sidelines ahead of the break, with his return anticipated some time after the international break.

Leandro Trossard’s stats

Dwight McNeil

McNeil was dealing with a knee issue ahead of the break, missing Gameweek 11 as a result.

The midfielder has however since been spotted in training, raising hopes of a return in Gameweek 12.

He is owned by 8.7% of FPL managers after a strong start to the season, having scored three and assisted three.

Dwight McNeil

Anthony Gordon

Gordon was flagged in FPL going into the break but took played for England, so should not be a headache for the 8.6% of the game who have the Newcastle winger in their teams.

A hip problem left his participation in Gameweek 12 in doubt but it looks like he will be fine to face West Ham.

Anthony Gordon’s stats

Eberechi Eze

Eze has not been seen since Gameweek 9, with a hamstring injury at fault for him missing the last two league games.

But it has been reported during the break that he is in contention to face Aston Villa in Gameweek 12, which would be a boost to Oliver Glasner given the Eagles are in 18th place in the table.

Glasner should give an update on Eze in his pre-match press conference.

Eberechi Eze

Ezri Konsa

Konsa has yet to be flagged in FPL but returned to Aston Villa from England duty early.

Interim England manager Lee Carsley said Konsa had a ‘slight problem with his hip’ and returned to his club after a scan.

England tweeted that he was ‘recovering indoors’ on Sunday after taking part in the match against Greece, so his withdrawal is hopefully precautionary for the 10% who own him.

Ezri Konsa

Phil Foden

Interest in Foden has been limited to date, with last year’s player of the season in just 6.4% of FPL teams.

He was among those to sit out England duties, with illness behind his absence.

Foden was not the only Manchester City player to skip the action for his country. Matheus Nunes withdrew from the Portugal squad, while Manuel Akanji did not join his Switzerland teammates.

Pep Guardiola was dealing with a number of injured players before the break and should give journalists an update later this week.

Phil Foden

Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof

Ruben Amorim takes charge of Manchester United for the first time on Sunday, with the Red Devils travelling to Ipswich.

The Portuguese head coach tends to play with a back three – but this could defend on the availability of his full-backs.

Lindelof had to be helped off the pitch after injuring his adductor playing for Sweden on Saturday.

Martinez meanwhile returned to the club early with the Argentinian centre-back reporting back pain. Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni said:

“We didn’t expect the case of Lisandro. We saw that he had suffered a blow to his back but apparently he had no problem, just pain. When he arrived here, the pain increased a bit. He underwent tests and is not fit to be here.”

Lisandro Martinez

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FPL Gameweek 12 early injury news: Palmer, Saka, Mbeumo, Alexander-Arnold and more

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