The international break has left two new problems in FPL squads, both from the England camp. Thomas Tuchel sent Ezri Konsa, who is owned by 19.1% of managers, back to Arsenal for treatment before the Czech Republic game. Bournemouth’s Alex Scott is reported to be out for six to eight weeks, even though the game still gives him a 50% chance of playing. On top of that, Arsenal now have six players with a flag, and they open Gameweek 6 an hour and a half after the deadline.
Konsa: “nothing major, but not worth the risk”
Konsa started for England in Saturday’s 7-0 win over Croatia, but sat out Tuesday’s game against the Czech Republic (3-0) and went back to Arsenal. Tuchel explained: “Ezri felt discomfort when he came into camp, played with it against Spain and it got a bit worse.” He added that Konsa “got another hit on the quad and that caused a light trauma”, and summed it up: “I think nothing major but not worth the risk taking.” According to Tuchel, Konsa returned to his club with two separate issues.
In the game Konsa carries a 75% flag. Arsenal play Leeds on Saturday at 12:30 UK time, an hour and a half after the deadline (11:00). If Konsa does not play, the automatic substitution will kick in, but any transfer decision has to be made without seeing the team sheet.
One thing is worth remembering regardless of the injury. Even a fit Konsa gets a rating of only 73 and a “Hold” verdict from our model. Before Gameweek 5 we pointed out that 193,000 managers were buying him on a rating of 75. He scored 1 point that week and has 12 for the season. So the injury is not the only argument for moving him on. For the same money or less, the model points to defenders rated 84–85:
| Defender | Price | Rating | Ownership | Gameweek 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Konsa (ARS) | £4.6m | 73 | 19.1% | Leeds (H) (3), 75% flag |
| Castagne (FUL) | £4.5m | 84 | 1.0% | Ipswich (A) (2) |
| Mitchell (CRY) | £4.5m | 84 | 6.1% | Nott’m Forest (H) (3) |
| Kayode (BRE) | £4.6m | 84 | 7.6% | Aston Villa (A) (3) |
| N. Williams (NFO) | £5.0m | 84 | 8.7% | Crystal Palace (A) (3) |
| Bogle (LEE) | £4.6m | 85 | 7.4% | Arsenal (A) (5) |
The number in brackets is the official fixture difficulty on a 1–5 scale. The most interesting option is Castagne: cheaper than Konsa, rated 11 points higher and owned by just 1% of managers. Fulham also have the easiest schedule in the league for Gameweeks 6–10, as we showed in our fixture analysis. Bogle has the highest rating in this group (42 points this season), but on Saturday he plays away at Arsenal, the toughest fixture for any defender this gameweek.
Scott: the game says 50%, the media say two months
Alex Scott made his first England start against Croatia and played 70 minutes. Tuchel praised him afterwards, but it emerged that Scott had reported a thigh problem two days before the game. According to Goal and Yahoo Sports, the quadriceps injury will keep him out for six to eight weeks. Bournemouth are reported to be unhappy with the decision to play him, although they have not made a formal complaint. Tuchel insisted nothing pointed to a risk and that he had the green light from the player and the medical staff.
In FPL, Scott still has only a 50% flag, and our model still rates him 81 (“Buy”). It is the same pattern we have described several times: the game is a step behind the reports, and the model reads game data, not press conferences or articles. If the reports are confirmed, Scott could miss as many as ten Bournemouth matches.
For the 5.6% of managers who own him, there is a simple swap: Tavernier from the same club costs exactly the same (£6.1m), is rated 88 and sits fourth in our captain picks. To be fair, Bournemouth go to Stamford Bridge on Saturday (difficulty 4), then host Sunderland and travel to Manchester United.
Arsenal: six flags before Leeds
Konsa is not Mikel Arteta’s only problem. Six Arsenal players have a 75% flag in the game, and Saliba has been out since the start of the season:
| Player | Ownership | Game status | Our rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Konsa | 19.1% | 75%, two issues after England duty | 73 |
| Tzolis | 11.8% | 75%, hamstring (reports: about 3 weeks) | 63 |
| Rice | 11.4% | 75%, withdrew from England in September | 84 |
| Havertz | 8.0% | 75%, hamstring | 74 |
| White | 4.8% | 75%, groin | 69 |
| Dowman | 0.1% | 75% | 42 |
Without a flag are Saka (rated 89, two goals against Croatia, number one in our captain picks), Gabriel (86), Calafiori (84, owned by every second manager) and Ødegaard (83), who left the Norway camp early and was given a few days off. The Leeds game is at home and rated 3 for Arsenal. Arteta’s pre-match press conference will tell you the most, as it is the last signal before the deadline. The full list of injuries across the league is in our Injury Centre.
What’s next
- Thursday 8 October: our full pre-deadline piece: Gakpo, Isak, Havertz and Tzolis, Gameweek 6 captaincy, prices and who the crowd is buying.
- Saturday 10 October, 11:00 UK: Gameweek 6 deadline, earlier than usual.
- Saturday 12:30: Arsenal v Leeds. Sunday 16:30: Liverpool v Manchester City.
We covered how the break ended for Haaland and Saka on Monday: Haaland went off for Norway. The earlier England withdrawals (Palmer, Rice and others) are in this piece.
FPL game data and ratings from our AI model as of 7 October 2026. Sources: Hayters, Yahoo Sports and Goal (Konsa, Tuchel’s comments), Goal and Yahoo Sports (Scott), Sky Sports (England v Czech Republic). This article was prepared with the help of AI and checked by our editors.