AFCON and Asian Cup start almost simultaneously with GW21, which means, many popular FPL assets, will miss at least Gameweek 21. When will players, such as Salah, Son, Kudus, Hwang, Wissa, Adingra, Jackson, Onana, Boly return to the Premier League?
Players will miss from 1 to potentially 4 gameweeks (could even be 5 in case of a winning team), depending on how deep their team goes in the tournament.
When will players return from AFCON to Premier League?
If eliminated in the group stage
Some players might miss one gameweek (or two gameweeks) – players that will be eliminated in the group stage. Gameweek 22 starts on January 30, while the last AFCON Group stage game is scheduled on January 24, while the last game of the group stage in the Asian Cup is scheduled on January 25.
So, that is 5 days, between games – which is not a lot, so it will depend on how quickly will players be able to travel back to England, and whether coaches will want to include them in the squad or starting XI right after they return. It would not be uncommon if these players were just on the bench in GW22.
***Note: GW21 deadline was moved to Friday!
See more in our FPL calendar.
If they make it to the final
Other players (those who make it to the final will likely miss 4 gameweeks, as the AFCON final is scheduled on 11 February (the Asian Cup final is on 10 February), while the GW25 starts on 17 February. Or it could even be 5 gameweeks – if there is a delay for returning players due to the winning celebration.
Read more about which players will miss PL due to AFCON and Asian Cup in our article: Which players go to AFCON and Asian Cup? (+Impact on FPL)
