by Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta and Jürgen Klopp must have been hiding behind their sofas during the international break rather than watching their players on duty for their countries.
In the coming days, those players will return to their clubs and their fitness will be assessed before the focus shifts back to the Premier League title race.
Guardiola saw two of his players, Kyle Walker and John Stones, injured on England duty but it was the Liverpool squad who did most of the work during the break from domestic football.
Klopp’s players on international duty played an average of 120 minutes over their two matches, including Konstantinos Tsimikas being brought into extra-time as Greece beat Georgia in the Euro’s knockout play-offs.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk played two full games, while Andy Robertson was injured playing for Scotland with an apparent ankle complaint. Liverpool will face Brighton at home on Sunday and Joe Gomez came off the bench twice for England to play 103 minutes.
He came on against Brazil and Belgium after injuries to Walker and Stones left Guardiola sweating on his fitness for Sunday’s final against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium. Matheus Nunes also has a knock.
City’s players averaged 109 minutes over the two internationals and saw more players in action as well. Southgate insisted there was no risk in Stones playing for the second game in four days, with other City players such as Erling Haaland and Nathan Ake also playing twice.
Arsenal’s players on duty played an average of 118 minutes and saw Bukayo Saka return home without kicking a ball as an injury precaution. Jakob Kiwior played 210 minutes after Poland beat Wales on penalties to qualify for the Euros.
Southgate, speaking at Wembley after the draw with Belgium, insisted that players’ data would be analyzed before decisions were made on their workload, and that Stones was coming back from a spell on the sidelines and so it was not an overworked question. At the end of the international break, there was a problem with Walker’s hamstring and Stones’ adductor will be evaluated.
“We measure everything and the first game for him was not a high-level game in terms of intensity,” Southgate said. “We did exactly what Holland did with Virgil van Dijk tonight. What did Norway do with Erling Haaland and [Martin] Odegaard starting them again. Holland also started [Nathan] Take it again.
“So it seems to fall on us when it comes to that. Of course we are disappointed if he has a problem. John also came in because he hadn’t played for two weeks so it’s not an overload situation. But I hate sending players back to their clubs if they are not fully fit.”
Robertson’s injury while playing for Scotland against Northern Ireland could be significant given his importance to Liverpool at left back. Robertson suffered an ankle injury after team-mate Conor Bradley scored the winner in Glasgow.
“I’m disappointed,” Bradley said. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to him but I was right behind him and he looked bad, I think he rolled his ankle maybe or something. It was bad but I hope nothing serious.
“I’ll text him and see how he’s doing. I wish him the best of luck and I’ll probably be back in on Thursday so I can see him there. He’s massive for us, one of the best left-backs in the Premier League for the last 10 years and he’s helped me a lot in my career. I have learned so much from him.”
Being overworked is a problem this season, especially with games running into 10 minutes of stoppage time, effectively meaning extra games are played during a campaign. Manchester United’s Raphaël Varane had a strong voice saying that football needs to take more care of its players.
“From the managers and the players, we have shared our concern for many years now that there are too many games, that the schedule is crowded, and that it is at a dangerous level for the physical and mental well-being of the players, ” said Varane.
“Despite our previous feedback, they have now recommended for next season: longer, more intense games, and less emotion for players to show. We just want to be in good condition on the pitch to give 100 per cent to our club and our fans. Why are our views not being heard?”
The Professional Footballers’ Association also spoke of the workload, chief executive Maheta Molango said City’s Champions League win was the 61st game of last season and an exhibition in which Kevin De Bruyne was forced off early.
“It’s definitely not what we want to see. The Champions League final is supposed to be in our Super Bowl,” he said. “It wasn’t because one of the best players in the world, De Bruyne, was out in the 30th minute. [Erling] Haaland was exhausted; Rodri, who is an excellent athlete, said he had cramps after 60 minutes. For us, we’ve reached a stage where it’s not just about the player’s health, it’s about us killing the product.”
