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15 Jul 2010 11:45:25
Physical and mental fatigue was one of the main reasons blamed for England’s poor showing at the World Cup.
Professor John Brewer, Professor of Sport at the University of Bedfordshire, has warned that the demands of another long season ahead could spell trouble for all the Premiership stars who were playing in South Africa this summer.
With clubs already having started their pre-season campaigns and the first round of fixtures in the Premiership barely a month away on 14 August, burn-out is a real issue for the internationals in what is labelled as the best league in the world.
With top players expected to perform in the Premiership, the two domestic cup competitions as well as Champions or Europa League games - never mind pre-season tours to far-flung places - there is little time for rest and recuperation.
Professor Brewer said: “Clubs simply can’t afford to give their top players time off with the current commercial pressures on them.”
World Cup finalists the Netherlands had four current Premiership players in their starting line-up – Johnny Heitinga, Nigel De Jong, Dirk Kuyt and Robin Van Persie.
Professor Brewer said: “The World Cup players will be thrown back into the rigours of pre-season training and the Premiership almost straight away. Their team-mates will already have been back in training for a few weeks.
“The physical nature of the English game takes its toll on players. My concern is that, at best, some of the players will have no more than two weeks’ rest and come February/March next year, they will be absolutely shattered. It will be no surprise if those players then start to suffer from injury and loss of form.
“Hopefully their managers will be aware of these potential problems and, wherever possible, give the players chance for rest and recovery during the season, either by using squad rotation or resting them for less important matches.”
Latest news» 2010» July» World Cup could affect returning stars
