Gameweek 8.5

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Summary for the lazy.

- It's the international break, but you knew that already 😴- Brighton appoint new manager 🤝- A new £3.9m goalkeeper enters the fold 😍- Isak returns to Newcastle, Haaland gets his very own physio 🤯- Digne and Patterson injured 🤕Stay for a masterclass in scraping the barrel for newsworthy content.

Drop to your knees and Begovic.

In news that England fans are celebrating with more fervour than a last minute winner against Tunisia,

Jordan Pickford

is injured.

But don't throw your £6.80 pint skywards just yet.

According to

Premier Injuries

, he could be back in time for Gameweek 9.

His replacement,

Asmir Begovic

, has already scored more points (9) than the entirety of Danny Ward's 22/23 tally (8). Indeed, Leicester managed to concede more goals (22) in the first seven matches of a Premier League season than any other team in the competition's history.And yes, that includes Norwich.In other words: Ward has had the worst start to a top-flight season that any goalkeeper has ever endured.

But it's not Begovic we're excited about. Pickford's imminent return makes him an unsustainable pick, even if he performed well in Gameweek 8.On the other hand, if I were Daniel Iversen (£3.9m) (I'm not, by the way), I'd fancy my chances at a call-up soon.He's one to keep an eye on. Leicester have a nice run of fixtures after the international break. If Iversen gets a chance between the sticks, he could be worth bringing in.

Brighton's new squeeze.

If you don't want to read it, expect Brighton to be a more open team, creating more and conceding more in the process.

The injury room.

The international break has forced us back to the injury room, I'm afraid.There have been a few victims thus far, and rest assured there'll be a few more by the time we reach Gameweek 9. Here they are:Nathan Patterson - currently being assessed, but came off for Scotland in their 3-0 win over Ukraine. This Everton news Twitter account phrased their feelings on the matter more delicately than we ever could:

Lucas Digne - also currently being assessed, but appears to have a stress fracture to his ankle.Aleksander Isak - he's returned from the Sweden camp after picking up an injury, and hasn't been given a return date yet. Could be one of those "international break" injuries, but Premier Injuries only give him a 25% of being ready for Gameweek 9.

A fun tidbit: Mario Pafundi, one of City's medical staff, has apparently taken on an additional role in the Norway camp solely to keep an eye on Erling Haaland.There goes his holiday plans.

Looking ahead

Remember Gabriel Jesus? He used to be that forward everyone enthusiastically owned. Now he's that forward we all reluctantly own. Well, he's one yellow card away from a one game suspension. Insert joke about Jesus and his sins here.We downloaded an app made by the FA for its players that explains the rules around this. Yeah, that actually exists.Here's what it says under the section about yellow cards:

In other words, he now has to behave himself for the next 11 games to avoid a stint on the sidelines. I wouldn't bet on that, personally.

We promised this'd be a short one, and we meant it.Enjoy the rest of the international break. Apparently if you pretend it's the Premier League it goes faster, but that's easier said than done when you're watching Lithuania's back four try to play out against the Faroe Islands' high press.We'll be back 24h before Gameweek 9 with stats, experts and all that other good stuff you actually subscribed for.The FPL Tips team.