The second international break of the season is upon us.
And while watching England is no longer considered a legitimate form of torture – it’s still two weeks without the thrills and spills of the Premier League.
But there is at least one upside to enduring Lee Dixon’s analysis (kind of).
And that is the return of several fantasy assets who’ve had time over the international break to recover from strains, knocks and niggles.
The most highly-owned of these assets is Trent Alexander-Arnold (£4.8m), who missed Liverpool’s matches against Porto and Manchester City with a groin issue.
The right-back, who carries a 33.6% ownership, was also left out of the England squad to face Andorra and Hungary in their World Cup qualifiers.
But manager Jurgen Klopp is confident Alexander-Arnold, along with Thiago Alcantara (£2.1m), will be fit and available for the clash with Watford at Anfield on October 16.
He said: “We have a good team so we still have solutions and we have to use them and yeah, after the international break the boys will be back I think.”
Chelsea’s Reece James (£5.1m) is another with a good chance of returning for their game with Brentford.
James picked up an ankle injury against Manchester City two weeks ago but had been expected to return for the 3-1 victory against Southampton.
He’s since withdrawn from the England squad but Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel confirmed he’s returned to training in the pool. N’Golo Kante (£2.6m) should also feature following a positive Covid test.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to welcome back Marcus Rashford (£5m) for Manchester United’s trip to Leicester.
Rashford is yet to make an appearance this season after undergoing shoulder surgery in August but he’s back in first-team training.
Solskjaer said: “Marcus is fit, he’s worked really hard, but he’s not had any contact until now. If his shoulder can take the contact now, he should be ready after the internationals.”
The Norwegian boss is also hopeful that captain Harry Maguire (£3.7m) will have recovered from his injury, but was less committal.
He added: “Let’s see, it’s still two weeks until the next game, so we’re hoping so but we don’t know.”
Everton trio Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.7m), Seamus Coleman (£2.3m) and Richarlison (£3.8m) are still considered doubtful for the clash with West Ham at Goodison Park.
Richarlison has been hard at work at Everton’s Finch Farm training complex and looks closer to a return than strike partner, Calvert-Lewin, who is sidelined with a broken toe.