Which FPL stars could be rested after international duties?

The first international break of 2024/25 is now over - but its impact on Fantasy Premier League is yet to be really felt.

Over 200 top-flight players have been representing their nations over the last week, including many of the highly-owned picks in Fantasy.

Some of those players are now flagged as injury doubts for Gameweek 4, including Martin Odegaard (£8.4m) and Nathan Ake (£5.4m).

But it’s fatigue and flight times, not just fitness, that Fantasy managers should consider ahead of Saturday’s 11:00 BST deadline.

Late returns

As is often the case, the players from the Americas are the last ones in midweek international action due to the timezone differences.

They also have some of the longest journeys back to their respective clubs.

Premier League head coaches may be wary about starting players who are fatigued after their recent minutes and long-haul flights. For FPL managers, this isn't ideal as their picks' pitch time could be affected in the upcoming Gameweek.

We saw an example of this after the first international break last season when former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp benched Darwin Nunez (£7.2m) and Luis Diaz (£7.6m) following their late returns from South America.

Below you can see the players who were in the squad for a match late on Tuesday night or in the early hours of Wednesday morning (BST), and who have had long journeys back to England. You can also see how many minutes they played in their midweek fixtures.

Argentina
Location (kick-off time BST): Colombia (Tuesday, 21:30)
Players (minutes): E.Martinez (90), Romero (90), E.Fernandez (85), L.Martinez (64), Mac Allister (26), Garnacho (0), G. Rodriguez (0).

Brazil
Location (kick-off time BST): Paraguay (Wednesday, 01:30)
Players (minutes): Gabriel (90), Alisson (90), Andre (90), Paqueta (79), Joao Pedro (45), Guimaraes (45), Ederson (0), J. Gomes (0).

Chile
Location (kick-off time BST): Chile (Tuesday, 22:00)
Players (minutes): Brereton Diaz (35).

Colombia
Location (kick-off time BST): Colombia (Tuesday, 21:30)
Players (minutes): Lerma (90), Munoz (90), L.Diaz (90), Mosquera (88), Duran (79), Sinisterra (0).

Ecuador
Location (kick-off time BST): Ecuador (Tuesday, 22:00)
Players (minutes): Caicedo (90), Estupinan (87).

Jamaica
Location (kick-off time BST): Honduras (Wednesday, 03:00)
Players (minutes): Pinnock (90), De Cordova-Reid (90), Antonio (84).

Mexico
Location (kick-off time BST): USA (Wednesday, 01:30)
Players (minutes): Araujo (66).

New Zealand
Location (kick-off time BST): USA (Wednesday, 00:00)
Players (minutes): Wood (74).

Paraguay
Location (kick-off time BST): Paraguay (Wednesday, 01:30)
Players (minutes): Almiron (86), Enciso (85), Sosa (24).

Uruguay
Location (kick-off time BST): Venezuela (Tuesday, 23:00)
Players: Ugarte (90), S.Bueno (90).

USA
Location (kick-off time BST): USA (Wednesday, 00:00)
Players: Richards (90), Turner (90).

Players most at risk of being rested

Internationals on the books of Manchester United and Southampton may be the biggest concern, as those two clubs contest the Gameweek 4 early kick-off at 12:30 BST on Saturday.

Lisandro Martinez (£4.5m), Manuel Ugarte (£5.0m) and Ben Brereton Diaz (£5.4m) were all in action for their countries late on Tuesday evening and now have to travel back to England for their sides' meeting on the south coast.

Alejandro Garnacho (£6.4m) at least wasn't handed midweek minutes by Argentina.

By contrast, Liverpool's Luis Diaz was among a select group of Premier League players who racked up 180 minutes of pitch time with their national sides, doing so for Colombia.

Arne Slot may consider a substitute role, or at least an early withdrawal, for the in-form winger this weekend, factoring in his amassed minutes and late return.

Diaz is the second-most bought player of Gameweek 4, with over 890,000 transfers in. The only player more popular than the Reds star is Joao Pedro (£5.7m), who is also a possible concern for the weekend.

A late call-up for Brazil, Pedro was given 45 minutes for his country in the midweek defeat to Paraguay. That represented his entire involvement for the Selecao over the last week, at least, so Fabian Hurzeler's decision to start the forward against Ipswich Town may be less about fatigue and more to do with match-readiness after a belated return.

Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.0m) was handed 180 minutes for Brazil, but given the magnitude of Sunday's fixture and the extra day of recovery time, it would be a surprise if Mikel Arteta rested his star centre-back for the north London derby.

The last international match to kick off was Honduras v Jamaica, which got under way at 03:00 BST on Wednesday.

Given that Michail Antonio (£5.5m) accumulated 174 minutes across his two appearances for Jamaica, and that Niclas Fullkrug (£6.8m) is an injury concern, West Ham United head coach Julen Lopetegui may consider handing Jarrod Bowen (£7.5m) the centre-forward role at Fulham on Saturday.

Total mins played by most-selected players

Of the 30 most-owned players in FPL, only two were not representing their nations because of injury.

Cole Palmer (£10.6m) and Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) withdrew from England duty last week with minor issues. Palmer, encouragingly for his Fantasy owners, has already been seen back in training with Chelsea.

A further seven players are fit but didn’t receive call-ups, so they should be fresh for Gameweek 4. This includes Lukasz Fabianski (£4.0m), who has retired from international football.

Erling Haaland (£15.2m) was handed 180 minutes by Norway over the break, although the second of his two starts took place on Monday - so there is a healthy period of recovery for FPL’s joint-top points scorer ahead of a home fixture against Brentford.

Alexander Isak (£8.5m), who scored three goals in two matches for Sweden, Josko Gvardiol (£6.0m) and Diogo Jota (£7.6m) had wrapped up their international commitments even earlier - by Sunday - and had relatively short journeys back to England from Europe.

Mohamed Salah (£12.7m) was kept busy, logging 165 minutes for Egypt. He was replaced after 75 minutes on Tuesday after scoring in a comfortable win in Botswana.

Eberechi Eze (£6.9m), by contrast, was only handed two substitute appearances by England. The winger's team-mate and compatriot, Dean Henderson (£4.5m), wasn't used at all.

For more useful FPL information on the international break, Fantasy Football Scout’s round-up covers all 20 Premier League clubs in detail.