Over 500,000 FPL managers left sweating after making same mistake during international break

A three-week international break offers Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers the opportunity to assess their options before action returns on October 10.

Thousands have already used this break to activate the Wildcard chip, allowing FPL managers to make unlimited transfers and use data from the opening five Gameweeks of Premier League action.

Others, meanwhile, activated the button earlier in the season and can only use the free transfers they've accumulated to tweak their teams, and unfortunately, this has come back to haunt many.

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FPL managers have brought in players too early during the international break

It is generally advised that managers make transfers as close to the deadline as possible to avoid the possibility of their players getting injured.

That advice applies even more during the international break, when hundreds of Premier League players are jetting across the planet to play for their countries.

Manchester City have the joint-most players (17) representing their nations, and one of those is Antoine Semenyo, who scored twice and assisted once for a season-high 17-point haul during City's 5-3 victory over Sunderland before the break.

As a result, 123,740 FPL managers rushed to bring the versatile attacker into their teams before Gameweek six. Sadly, moving early to snap up Semenyo has proven costly for those managers.

It was confirmed last week that the 26-year-old would miss Ghana's fixtures during the break after requiring treatment for a swollen leg.

While his involvement in the mouth-watering showdown against Liverpool on October 11 hasn't been ruled out, his problem only serves as a reason why early transfers are a huge risk.

That also applies to Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey. He was a hot commodity after scoring a hat-trick at the Etihad Stadium and is currently the second most transferred forward (193,118) during the international period.

But those FPL managers were burned when he was forced off with a hamstring injury 35 minutes into the Netherlands 1-1 draw with Germany on September 24. Sunderland and his thousands of new owners now face an anxious wait to see if he is fit for their clash with Brighton on October 10.

Similarly, Liverpool Alexander Isak (113,339) and Cody Gakpo (50,637) have also been popular picks for GW6, but like Semenyo and Brobbey, both have suffered problems on international duty.

Isak returned to Melwood after picking up an injury on international duty after scoring for Sweden against Romania.

Gakpo, meanwhile, also withdrew from the Netherlands squad after suffering an ankle injury against Serbia. The 27-year-old would supposedly be lucky to avoid a spell on the sidelines, in what would be a brutal blow to the managers who brought him in.

Arsenal's Kai Havertz has been transferred in by 50,181 managers during the break after scoring twice in his opening five games, but they're now sweating over his availability after he suffered a muscle strain for Germany against the Netherlands and was sent back to the Emirates Stadium.

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Cole Palmer and Bruno Fernandes injury updates

Elsewhere, the hugely popular Cole Palmer withdrew from Thomas Tuchel's England squad due to a minor muscle problem that Chelsea have also been managing.

Thomas Tuchel was disappointed when Palmer pulled out of international duty, but the 24-year-old - who is owned by 25.7 per cent of managers at the time of writing - should be fit to return for their clash against Bournemouth after the break.

Bruno Fernandes has also been managing a complicated fitness issue and played through pain, which forced him to miss Portugal's UEFA Nations League match against Norway.

He picked up the nagging problem during Manchester United's 4-0 victory over Sabah in the Champions League on September 10 after taking a couple of heavy blows.

Fortunately, for his 38.5 per cent of owners, Fernandes was only left out of the side that beat Norway 2-1 as a precaution and is being targeted for a potential return against Denmark on October 1.

Man United return from the break with a showdown against Tottenham Hotspur.