The first international break of the season is under way - and this one is longer than fans will have become accustomed to. For the first time, the Premier League and the Championship will come to a halt for three weeks rather than the usual two. Football fans tend not to love international breaks, but this change has been done with good intentions.
It merges the four games played in the old September and October breaks into one slot. So the domestic game stops for three weeks, rather than four weeks across two windows. Club football is actually getting a week back.
But for players not on international duty, three weeks is a long time for finely tuned athletes not to play competitively. So how are clubs going to deal with this change? Here's how different teams plan to balance the international break.
Most squads in the Premier League these days are packed with international players, and Brentford are no different. Most of the Bees' squad are away, with about 12 players - including Callum Wilson and Igor Thiago - left at their training facility, including five who are coming back from injury. Brentford have a longer break than almost every other team, given they hosted Chelsea on Friday evening.
Boss Keith Andrews has given his first-team players a week off with individual training programmes to follow. Those players will not have restrictions on leaving the country, but it is unlikely long-haul flights would be sanctioned. The squad will reconvene on Saturday, 26 September to begin training again, before playing a behind-closed-doors game against another English club on the weekend of 3 October.
That friendly could potentially give the likes of Nathan Collins and Sepp van den Berg a chance to return to action, with the rest of the squad made up of under-21 players. The second international break will look very different, with the Bees playing Brighton on Sunday, 8 November and back in action against Everton on Saturday, 21 November. Players may be given the odd day off, but in general it will be a normal training programme with no friendly before the usual preparation for the fixture against the Toffees.
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