Fer Lopez and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde will remain at Wolves during the international break because of minor injuries, the club confirmed on 10 November. According to the official update, they will not join Spain’s under-21 squad and Haiti respectively, while seven teammates have left for international duty.

The announcement gives no recovery timetable or date for a return to matches. The description of the injuries as minor should therefore not be treated as confirmation that either player will be available when club football resumes. Their withdrawal from national-team duty and continued presence at Compton Park are the confirmed developments.

Other Wolves players face competitive international fixtures. Nasser Djiga has joined Burkina Faso, while Marshall Munetsi and Tawanda Chirewa are with Zimbabwe. CAF’s official qualifying programme confirms that Burkina Faso meet Mauritania on 13 and 17 November in matchdays three and four of the Africa Cup of Nations campaign. Djiga consequently has two scheduled qualifiers during the window.

These situations carry different implications when following the club’s squad. Leaving training to represent a country is not evidence of an injury, while withdrawing from a national side does not establish a player’s availability for the next domestic round. For Lopez and Bellegarde, a further club medical update would be needed before drawing that conclusion. The present announcement explains their international absence without setting a deadline that Wolves have not supplied.

Jean-Ricner Bellegarde with Lens reserves in September 2015, before joining Wolves; archival photograph. Photographer/creator: Supporterhéninois. Image source · CC0. 2015-09-12 16:23:45.