The first international break of the 2026-27 season is almost over - and it has been a longer one than fans are used to. For the first time, the Premier League and Championship paused for three weeks rather than the usual two with players returning to domestic action from Friday. The idea was brought in by Fifa with player welfare in mind, but, with a growing list of injuries, has it really been a success?
Who benefits from an extended international schedule? And do people really want a three-week break from domestic action when the season has only just got going? In recent years, Fifa has used five primary international breaks during the season, all consisting of two-week gaps in March, June, September, October and November.
The switch to a three-week gap across late September and early October, alongside reducing the number of breaks down to four, was made for a number of reasons. One was that the scheduling of the 2026 World Cup final on 19 July was the latest date for a summer World Cup since 1966. Player welfare also featured in the discussions, this including travel considerations.
The reduction in the number of breaks will reduce the number of journeys some players face in having to travel from one continent to another for their international fixtures . One such example is African and South American players who play their domestic football in Europe and have to travel cross-continent to fulfil international fixtures. But with the domestic season just starting to get interesting, fans tend to bemoan the interruption - no matter the length - and long for the return of club football.
The extended international break might have been brought in with player welfare in mind, but the reality is that a number of players will return to their clubs with injuries. It is hard to quantify whether more injuries have been picked up during the past fortnight than during other international breaks and it must be factored in that this is a lengthier break with more fixtures. A full and fair comparison might have to wait until the end of the season, after all the international breaks.
However, there have been numerous injuries to players since players joined up with international team-mates. On Monday, it was announced that Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott had withdrawn from the England squad with a thigh injury and the Cherries are unhappy with the way they believe England handled the injury. Manchester City striker Erling Haaland asked to be substituted on 67 minutes, subsequently limping off in Norway's match against Portugal on Sunday before leaving camp on Monday while club team-mate Nico O'Reilly returned to City for further assessment.
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