Premier League Braced for More Injuries as International Break Exposes Growing Player Fatigue

There is always a certain degree of tension between clubs and national teams, but the current international break has seen the pressure turned up another notch. Club managers wave goodbye to their elite players with trepidation every time an international break comes around, dreading the possibility of an injury striking.

It has always been a part of the game, yet the increasingly demanding fixture schedule and intensity of modern football has heightened things. Before any football had even been played in this break, there was a very obvious sign that things had reached a breaking point.

Tino Livramento, Kobbie Mainoo, Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford and Declan Rice all pulled out of the England squad, turning heads and sparking a now-familiar debate., Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford and Declan Rice all pulled out of the England squad, turning heads and sparking a now-familiar debate. "When England see five players who need to withdraw when the single most proud moment a player has is to be called up for the national team, you just ask yourself, what's wrong about the industry?" Maheta Molango, the Professional Footballers' Association chief executive, said at the Fifpro performance summit.

"You see people like Cole Palmer, someone who would have played four consecutive summers in a row had he gone to the World Cup, and you wonder why is he missing? He's missing because he's a victim of the calendar and that's something that needs to absolutely trigger the alarm bells.

Those alarm bells have continued to sound over the following weeks. One of themain storiesof this international break has been Jurgen Klopp starting out as Germany manager.

One of the first things he did reflected the strain on players: selecting two 22-man squads. It's mainly because we have to play four games in two weeks, which is very unusual for the national team," Klopp explained.

While partly done so he could cast an eye over more players, Klopp also recognised the difficulty in asking his players to play four times in quick succession. His first game, a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands, demonstrated it succinctly, with Kai Havertz hobbling off with a hamstring injury.

As if to emphasise the point further, Havertz's Arsenal team-mate Christos Tzolis then also suffered a hamstring strain in Greece's 2-2 draw with the Netherlands last week, while Ezri Konsa also returned to the Gunners early from England duty with a knock. FIFA decided to swap the normal two-week international break for a three-week one due to the late ending of the World Cup, but also to reduce the amount of travel for players.

The issue of burnout is nothing new - former Manchester City star Rodri threatened players would strike over two years ago - but the past few weeks have rammed home the problem. Liverpool duo Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo returned early from international duty due to injuries, while Jeremy Jacquet was left out of the France squad on Monday night with a hamstring issue.