LONDON — Bruno Fernandes, Cody Gakpo and Patrick Dorgu have joined a growing high-profile injury list during the September Nations League window, with all three seeing their involvement curtailed while on international duty for Portugal, the Netherlands and Denmark.
Fernandes played in Portugal's win over Wales on Thursday but was not in the squad for Sunday's fixture against Norway. Prior to the match, boss Jorge Jesus revealed Fernandes had "played through the pain" against Wales and "wasn't his usual self." "He played with an injury he brought from Manchester United," he said. "He really wanted to play against Wales."
Both Gakpo and Manchester United team-mate Dorgu were forced off during Sunday's matches. Gakpo lasted just 16 minutes of the Netherlands' 2-1 win against Serbia, grimacing and holding the lower part of his right leg before being replaced. The Liverpool striker has started the season with two goals and four assists in six appearances across all competitions. Dorgu limped off after 30 minutes in Denmark's 2-0 win against Wales.
Liverpool's Alexander Isak has also withdrawn from Sweden duty with a minor thigh injury after playing the full 90 minutes and scoring in Sweden's 2-1 win over Romania on Friday in the Nations League. He 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 and Sunderland's Brian Brobbey both went off injured in the Netherlands' draw with Germany in Amsterdam, with Havertz caught on the knee by a high boot from Quinten Timber and Brobbey suffering an apparent muscle injury days after his hat-trick in Sunderland's 5-3 Premier League defeat by Manchester City. Sunderland suffered a further blow as Dan Ballard sustained 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.
The injuries extend beyond the Premier League. 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 against Turkey, netting a record-extending 67th goal from Michael Olise's pass before limping off five minutes later. Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala suffered a muscle injury during the warm-up for Germany's game against the Netherlands and withdrew. The first international break of the 2026-27 men's season is lasting a week longer than usual, with the traditional October break scrapped for a three-week gap across late September and early October where countries will play four matches instead of two.