I hate the international break

The World Cup, and to a lesser extent the Euro Championships, are some of the best weeks of any year but the process by which teams get there is trying. I hate the fact that the start to the season loses momentum and I especially hate the fact that teams (both real and fantasy) lose players through no fault of their own. In truth, many of the injuries below have nothing to do with the international break but it's a good excuse to bemoan the fact that I had nothing to do on Saturday morning.

Injuries
This one wasn't actually suffered while on international duty but Rafael van der Vaart has been ruled out for 6 weeks and the 5% of managers who own him will need to look elsewhere. Luckily there are a number of good replacements out there who I'd currently rank as 1. Young, 2. Silva, 3. Nasri, 4. Nani, 5. Adam (pending an injury update) 6. Mata. Of those, Mata and Nasri are on the rise but I still like Young and Silva until further notice.

Jack Wilshere's injury status keeps getting worse, with the Arsenal man ruled out for another couple of months.

Chaz Adam had to leave the Scotland game early and will miss the mid-week encounter. It isn't clear as to his status for Liverpool's next game.

Both Darren Bent and Micah Richards missed the England game and will do so again midweek. Physio room don't show Richards as injured while Bent is showing as due back on the weekend, but be sure to have backup plans for both these players if you own them (Kompany and Hernandez/Suarez are the natural replacements).

Dalglish has indicated some concern over Luis Suarez's commitment to Uruguay and you have to think he's going to get rested at some point in the future if he continues to play for the national side. This isn't a major mark against Suarez but it's worth noting in the back of your mind.

Asamoah Gyan was on the scoresheet but was later stretchered off. Early indications suggest he will be ready for the weekend though with relatively tricky fixtures coming up, it's starting to look like other options might be worth looking at.

Shane Long is out of the midweek game and so his place in the West Brom side set to face Norwich looks in doubt. He's been good value to date but it's unlikely he will keep his impressive goal scoring form going, so if he is indeed out it might be better to move on sooner rather than later.

Hot hands
Robin Van Persie was given a free role for Holland, who out 11-0 victors over San Marino, and responded by notching 4 goals. He's been a forgotten man in the early season with Aguero and Rooney being in fine form, but he took his goal against Man Utd extremely well and needs to be considered if the new Arsenal arrivals gel quickly.

Wayne Rooney continued his tremendous start to the season and reminded up that he remains the best prospect to own right now with a brace for England. United have some good looking fixtures on the horizon and it's going to be very hard to drop Rooney anytime soon.

International Roundup

England 5 -1 Croatia
Braces from Lampard and Gerrard along with a goal for in-form Rooney served to underline the strength of the top fantasy players available. Lennon also played well and has all but convinved me that he is the logical choice to replace Modric for those with the extra bit of cash - 0.3m - to spare. The main thing is that there were injuries and a goal for Eduardo will also be welcomed by the Arsenal fans.

Scotland 0-1 Hollland
De Jong, van Persie and Kuyt all played a part here and got through the game unscathed. Kuyt should have scored at least once where as van Persie was largely quiet. Kuyt looks like a great bet this week at home to Burnley and he will take confidence from another good performance here, though his booking for diving was not good to see. Hutton, Alexander and Fletcher were all in action for Scotland with, again, no injuries noted. Elia's goal was brilliantly taken and I think we might here more than that boy in the future.

Serbia 1-1 France
Eventful game in Serbia involving a whole host of Premier League players including Vidic, Ivanovic, Milijas and Tosic for Serbia and Evra, Gallas, Sagna, Anelka, Malouda and Clichy for France. Milijas added a goal from the spot for Serbia, while the French boys were largely restricted having been reduced to 10 men when keeper Lloris was sent off after just 10 minutes. No injuries to note which is great news for Arsenal, Chelsea and all the other teams watching this one on the edge of their seats.

Wales 1-3 Russia
Arshavin and Pavlyuchenko played for the Russians tonight while the Welsh side featured Hennessey, Ricketts, Gabbidon, James Collins, Ramsey and Bellamy. Arshavin failed to find the net but the ran the game all day, showing the kind of pace, power and composure that convince me he can join Gerrard and Lampard in a new big three. He grabbed an assist for the first goal with a lovely through ball. Villa new boy James Collins (4.5m) responded with a header from a Ramsey cross, and with Davies out for O'Neill's men, it could get better for the Welshman as he looks to establish himself in the Villa first team.

Spain 3-0 Estonia
Premier League stars Fabregas and Torres played here and enjoyed distinctly different nights. Fabregas was excellent on his way to a man of the match display, and even added a goal to complete his evening. Torres however was very quiet and failed to impress again for La Furia Roja. The main thing for fantasy players is that they both got through the game without injury as Fafbregas will go to back alongside Diaby instead of Xavi and Torres will get his old friend Steve Gerrard back, so don't read too much into these displays. Torres is probably the top captain pick alongside Gerrard this week as Liverpool welcome Burnley to Anfield.

Elsewhere
- Michael Ballack converted a penalty in Germany's 4-0 win over Azerbaijan
- Rosicky played his first game in 20 months, playing just shy of an hour in the Czech's 7-0 demolition of San Marino.
- Martin Skrtel played 90 minutes for Slovakia in there 2-0 victory over Northern Ireland. With his fitness confirmed he should be the logical choice to replace Insua if you cannot afford Aurelio.
- Bendtner scored as Denmark drew with Albania though don't get the idea that this makes him a legitimate fantasy option just yet.