OffsAIde
·23 September 2026
Paulo Fonseca: OL’s break is both easy and difficult to manage

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·23 September 2026

Olympique Lyonnais head into an extended international break with a reduced group as Paulo Fonseca considers every scenario. According to Le Progres, 19 players are away with their national teams, including 14 from the professional squad.
The pause arrives after a 4-0 victory over Rennes. With so many absentees, the workload in Lyon is lighter for those who stayed.
Lyon are not in action again until 9 October at Lens, which opens a long window for recovery. Fonseca also intends to run an internal review of the team’s play and map out the next phases.
He noted that a large portion of the squad has departed and that the staff will shift to a different type of work with a small group. Sessions are set to revolve around targeted drills with five or six players available.
Fonseca framed this break as both easy and difficult to handle for OL, given the numbers away. The aim is to maintain sharpness in the group that remains before the full squad returns.
Source: Le Progres
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