International breaks are generally disliked among many soccer fans around the world. After all, these national team games break up league schedules several times throughout the season. Not only are popular leagues disrupted, but many of these national team fixtures ultimately do not matter very much.
Players are often forced to play meaningless friendlies for their countries. FIFA and UEFA attempted to ‘fix’ this issue by creating the Nations League. The competition was designed to replace unpopular friendly fixtures with more competitive matches. However, the tournament is still essentially pointless and only puts more pressure on players.
Top players around the world now regularly play 50 or 60 total matches each season between club and country. The added games to the schedule have created additional injury issues with these stars. Players deal with burnout and more injuries. Plus, they happen at key moments in the season due to the wear and tear on bodies.
Top three Premier League teams now have fresh injury concerns
Several players vying for a Premier League title picked up injuries during the most recent international break. Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City are fighting it out in a tense battle for the English top-flight trophy. With only 10 games remaining for each side, all three teams need their key players healthy for the home stretch of the season.
Nevertheless, Gunners winger Bukayo Saka departed the England national team’s training due to a nagging hamstring issue. Center-back Gabriel Magalhaes also departed Brazil‘s sessions early with an Achilles issue. The stars are currently two of the north London club’s most important players in the squad.
The Arsenal duo did not feature for their national team’s friendlies this past international break, as City had three players suffer injuries during these fixtures. John Stones and Kyle Walker both limped off of the pitch in the recent week.
Walker required a…
Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/injuries-in-international-break-may-affect-premier-league-race
Author : Chris Moore
Publish date : 2024-03-28 15:28:20
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