Triple injury scare for Arsenal defenders - how serious are they?

The sooner the international break is over, the happier Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will be.

The Premier League leaders went into the fortnight boasting one of the meanest defences in Europe but have seen three of their key men involved in injury scares.

Injuries to Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori had already caused alarm before full-back Jurrien Timber joined the list during the Netherlands' 4-0 thrashing of Lithuania on Monday.

The Gunners, who host north London rivals Tottenham on Sunday and then Bayern Munich the following Wednesday, had registered a club-record eight consecutive clean sheets across all competitions before their 2-2 draw against Sunderland in their last match before the international break.

Brazil defender Gabriel, whose partnership with William Saliba has been one of best defensive pairings in the league for several seasons, has played a major role in their superb start to the season.

The league leaders have conceded just five goals in 11 games, and the Brazilian has also chipped in with two goals and provides a consistent threat at set-pieces.

So when he became the first Arsenal defender to pick up an injury, alarm bells would have sounded at their London Colney training ground.

The 27-year-old did not travel to France for Brazil's friendly against Tunisia on Tuesday after scans confirmed he sustained a thigh injury in Saturday's friendly against Senegal, when he was forced off in the second half.

Then full-back Calafiori, who has been the left-back in most of their games this season, withdrew from the Italy squad with a hip problem.

The 23-year-old joined up with the team for their World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Norway, but trained alone and did not feature in either match.

However, it seems there is some good news on this front for Arsenal, with reports suggesting the Gunners are hopeful the Italian will be available for Sunday.

Italy boss Gennaro Gattuso said he was pleased with the defender's commitment to the Azzurri.

"Riccardo joined the national team with a physical problem," he said.

"He showed dedication to the shirt and we tried to make him grit his teeth, but we couldn't force it."

But Gunners fans would have been left fearing the worst on Monday when Timber was injured by a bad tackle during the first half of the Netherlands' win against Lithuania.

He was treated by the physios after appearing to have sustained a knee injury, but pictures subsequently showed a deep cut to his leg, and he played on for another 30 minutes being replaced, again raising hopes he will be available for the weekend.

Arsenal are already dealing with various injuries, with forwards Viktor Gyokores, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Noni Madueke joined by midfielder Martin Odegaard in having missed recent matches, and they will be hoping that their trio of defenders will not be joining them on the sidelines.

Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi and Aston Villa centre back Ezri Konsa both missed England's World Cup qualifier against Albania on Sunday through injury.

Guehi left the England camp on Friday to continue his recovery from a foot injury sustained against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League while Konsa did not travel to Albania for Sunday's match, remaining in London instead because of a tight calf.

Burnley striker Armando Broja has struggled for minutes this season under Scott Parker and was left in tears after having to be stretchered off during Albania's defeat by England on Sunday.

The 24-year-old has missed more than 80 games during his career through injury or illness and was only on the pitch for around 10 minutes before having to come off.

With significant Premier League representation across the globe, it has been a busy international window for many of the English top-flight's players.

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland was once again the headline as he scored twice against Italy to help Norway to qualify for a first World Cup since 1998 and first major tournament since Euro 2000.

His prolific goalscoring form has translated from club to country with the Norwegian on target 32 times in 20 games this campaign.

Chelsea forward Estevao Willian has also continued to impress on the international stage, finding the net for Brazil in their 2-0 win over Senega

Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade was on target three times for Germany, helping them to achieve automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick as Portugal thrashed Armenia to book their place while the midfielder's club team-mate Casemiro was also on target for Brazil.

The Netherlands will join them at next year's tournament thanks to goals from Tottenham's Xavi Simons, Liverpool's Cody Gakpo, Manchester City's Tijjani Reijnders and Aston Villa's Donyell Malen.

Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol netted for Croatia and Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike and Crystal Palace's Jean-Philippe Mateta each scored for France as both nations earned their place in next year's tournament.

Brentford captain Granit Xhaka and Nottingham Forest winger Dan Ndoye both scored for Switzerland while Arsenal midfielder Martin Zubimendi scored for Spain and West Ham's Tomas Soucek netted for the Czech Republic as Bees midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard scored for Denmark.