According to The Athletic, the first international break of the season has been extended to four matches, causing several Premier League players to return with injuries. National team managers from various countries have openly expressed their dissatisfaction, and the long travel distances and congested schedule have raised widespread concerns.

Haaland, Isak, Gakpo, Scott, O'Reilly, Ezri Ngoyo, Jan-Paul van Hecke, Micky van de Ven, Kai Havertz, Patric-Dorgu, Brian Brobbey, Dan Ballard, and Christos Tzolis – what do they all have in common?

If you answered "they are all Premier League players," you're technically correct and get half marks. But if you answered "they are all Premier League players who returned to their clubs with various injuries after the first international break of the season," then congratulations – you're completely right and get full marks!

It's quite a lengthy injury list, with some minor issues that might allow players to potentially feature in weekend matches, but others will keep key players sidelined for extended periods. Scott is expected to miss about two months with a quadriceps injury, Gakpo suffered a thigh injury with no clear diagnosis, Brobbey picked up a hamstring injury, and Dorgu, Havertz, and Tzolis also sustained hamstring problems, with varying degrees of severity.

Additionally, Raphinha suffered a thigh injury while with Brazil, and Kylian Mbappé left the French squad's training camp due to a knee issue.

Injuries are inevitable, but such a concentrated cluster of injuries makes this extended international break even less popular. Previously, there were international breaks in September, October, and November each year, with two matches per break. This year's schedule extended the September break to four matches, while the November break was shortened.

It's an intense period of international football, and while it's impossible to say definitively that this directly caused the wave of injuries, it's hard to absolve it of blame.

Clubs won't be happy, and most national team managers don't appear to like it either.

"This is a very difficult window, four matches," said United States national team manager Mauricio Pochettino. "A lot of travel, long flights. We need to send a message to the clubs that we care about the players, that we need to be careful and consider each situation and not take risks... We have to be responsible."

Pochettino is far from the only manager to voice objections.

Thomas Tuchel was skeptical at the start of this international break, and although he saw some positives by the end, he preferred the old schedule.

"Initially, I didn't like it, having such a long window after such a long tournament... being in camp for so long after such an extended tournament," he told reporters before England's 3-0 victory over the Czech Republic on Tuesday.

"There are also positives: more consecutive training sessions, more meetings, and you can see improvement. We've organized this camp well, but I would have preferred three camps to give more players more opportunities to show themselves between windows. As it is, we're making the most of it."

Others were more blunt. "I enjoy it, and I think the players do too, but four matches in such a short timeframe is too demanding, especially for them," said Italy manager Roberto Mancini.

"Nobody contacted me to ask my opinion – I can guarantee that," said Spain manager and World Cup winner Luis de la Fuente. "Nobody consulted us. We have four matches in 11 days; including travel and everything else, it's very demanding. We'd be happy to play all the matches, but this isn't the most suitable arrangement."

New Netherlands manager Xavi Hernández was even more critical. "The schedule isn't good," he said at a press conference. "It's not good for the national team, and it's not good for the clubs who sometimes see players return injured after being released. Having such a congested schedule three months after the World Cup is asking for trouble. There's also training, travel, match recovery, and so on. It's very odd to have an international window like this at this stage of the season."

Not everything is negative. Some managers are being creative: Jürgen Klopp actually called up two squads for Germany, giving players who might not otherwise make the national team a chance to prove themselves.

Canceling the October international break actually added an extra week to the domestic calendar. In theory, this also reduces travel for some players: South American or African players based in Europe only need to make one long round trip to play for their country, rather than two.

However, in practice, does this actually reduce player travel? Pochettino highlighted the flight distances the US national team had to cover: Atlanta to Orlando, Orlando to Atlanta, Atlanta to St. Louis, and then St. Louis to Arizona. Almost 2,500 miles of flying in just over two weeks.

Although distances for European teams are shorter, there's still significant travel in a short timeframe: England played Spain at home, then traveled to the Czech Republic, then to Croatia, and finally back to London, all within 11 days. Italy played at home, then traveled to Turkey, then to France, and finally back home. Spain's schedule is relatively lighter but still requires travel to England, back home for two matches, and then to Croatia.

Africa's schedule is arguably even more ridiculous, with most nations playing two 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and then filling their schedule with meaningless friendlies. Most matches are in Africa, and many nations arrange friendlies at relatively sensible locations, but Benin played qualifiers in Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, then flew to Argentina for Messi's farewell match.

It's even worse when countries like Brazil use the international break to travel to Australia for two matches, and then to India for another. Uruguay went to Japan, then South Korea, then India. Colombia and Chile traveled to the US and Canada for a series of friendlies.

This is a period without competitive international matches in South America, as all CONMEBOL teams automatically qualify for Copa América, and World Cup qualifying is still ways off. The extended international break leaves plenty of time that needs to be filled with matches, and FIFA should know that these federations will fill it as lucrative as possible, just as clubs do with their pre- and post-season tours. Brazil reportedly received $4 million (£3 million) for their appearance in India.

They might still make these trips during a standard shorter international break, but those trips wouldn't be as condensed and exhausting.

Things might be different next year when this long international break won't directly follow the longest World Cup ever held. However, a long gap is emerging in the domestic football calendar, ostensibly for the benefit of international football. If the players involved continue to get injured, some end up traveling even more, and almost no national team manager is happy with it, it seems like a solution that makes nobody satisfied.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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