Which Premier League sides have been hit most by the World Cup?
It's been a season like no other as the World Cup in Qatar interrupted usual football proceedings across the globe.
While other countries often have a regular winter break, most of the major European leagues have simply delayed the resumption of their fixtures until the new year.
However, the Premier League will get straight back into action from December 26th, kicking off with Brentford v Tottenham at 12.30pm.
But with so many of the country's top stars performing in Qatar - and with many getting to the latter stages of the competition - which sides are most in a pickle with injuries, fatigue and extended holidays?
Conte and Arteta hit by injuries
Antonio Conte is very rarely an easy man to please, and the chances are he'll be muttering a few naughty words under his breath after seeing a couple of key players returning injured to Tottenham training.
Despite Uruguay exiting at the group stage, midfield rock Rodrigo Bentancur left the field 33 minutes into his country's feisty clash against Ghana with a hip injury that likely would have ended his tournament even if the South Americans had progressed.
The 25-year-old has been a top performer for Conte's side this season, but the Italian can at least be buoyed by the fact that Bentancur is back in light training, with the expectation that he'll be ready for the Aston Villa fixture on New Year's Day.
That wasn't the only bad news though, as a freshly fit Richarlison also picked up an injury while playing for Brazil.
The forward had struggled for fitness prior to Qatar but played a starring role for Brazil before their shock exit in the quarter-finals, scoring one of the goals of the tournament in the process.
However, the club will be without the forward after he pulled up with a hamstring injury during their penalty defeat to Croatia.
Add to this the mental and physical demands placed on finalists Hugo Lloris and Cristian Romero, a seven-game run from Ivan Perisic, as well as the mentality of England's Harry Kane after his decisive penalty miss, it seems Conte will have his work cut out prior to the early kick-off against Brentford.
League leaders Arsenal have also been hampered by injuries to key players, notably star forward Gabriel Jesus, who came off after 63 minutes against Cameroon.
The Brazilian suffered a knee injury that is expected to keep him out until February, putting a dampener on Mikel Arteta's charge for the title.
He's joined on the sidelines by Takehiro Tomiyasu who was injured in Japan's last 16 defeat to Croatia, although he'll face a late fitness test and could yet be ready for Boxing Day.
Extended breaks
Brighton featured an impressive array of talent at the World Cup, namely Argentina's Alexis Mac Allister.
The 23-year-old had a starring role in his nation's journey to be crowned World Cup winners, setting up Angel Di Maria's goal during a blistering first-half performance.
He'll likely be given an extra week or two off, which could prove very costly given the midfielder's importance to the Seagulls.
Similarly, golden glove winner and infamous trophy dangler Emiliano Martinez will likely need a break after leading much of Argentina's post-victory celebrations, which will cause a few selection issues for his employers at Aston Villa.
The same will likely be the case for Manchester City's Julian Alvarez and Liverpool's Ibrahim Konate, although with neither player being automatic first-choices at their respective clubs, they may feel like less of a hit for their managers at this stage.
Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp will likely just be happy to see them returning unscathed, along with the rest of their stars who returned home earlier.
Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech and Mateo Kovacic both also played important roles for their countries, reaching the semi-finals and a third-place play-off against one another, with plenty of 120-minute matches along the way.
An already alarming injury list for Graham Potter won't be helped by needing to rest two in-form stars, and the Chelsea boss may be forced to turn to them sooner than he would have preferred.
West Ham's Nayef Aguerd also played a bulk of Morocco's matches in Qatar, returning with an adductor strain.
David Moyes had hoped to have him available for the match against Arsenal but it seems more and more unlikely he'll be ready in time.
Cheikhou Kouyate suffered a hamstring tear in Senegal's opening group stage game against the Netherlands, an injury that will keep the 33-year-old midfielder out of action during Nottingham Forest's huge battle to beat the drop.
Positives for Ten Hag
Erik ten Hag will have been sweating over his Manchester United stars who were out in Qatar, with 13 key players mostly making it through to the knockout stages.
Only Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez made it to the final, with the latter only featuring intermittently throughout the competition.
Varane, however, had just about overcome an injury prior to heading out with France, and played six games in Qatar. Worryingly, he collapsed in an exhausted heap close to the end of a gruelling 120 minutes during France's final loss to Argentina.
Portugal right-back Diogo Dalot picked up a thigh injury but shouldn't be out for too long, while an improved Harry Maguire is currently ill and unlikely to play, which could be a blow given Varane and Martinez will likely also be unavailable.
Ten Hag will be pleased that the majority of his players are fit and ready though, with the likes of Christian Eriksen, Marcus Rashford, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes and Tyrell Malacia all starting United's League Cup win over Burnley during the week.
