Numerous high-profile players have made their minds clear when it comes to the lack of care towards the footballers who are ‘blackmailed’ with the number of matches squeezed in in these two calendar years. Toni Kroos, Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois and many others have stated how hard it is for footballers to keep up with the pace and avoid injuries, especially due to the World Cup, which will for the first time in history be played in ‘winter’ months.Those who are not happy with the schedule are joined by Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta. The Spaniard, famous for his tirelessness and stamina, has criticised the “crazy” fixture list endured by players in the Premier League. He has highlighted the timing of this year’s 2022 World Cup as a big factor, citing it as a risk to player welfare.“It’s difficult and sad, because as players you want to go to the World Cup, but we have this schedule where we have to play for our club and do our best. We are fighting a lot for player welfare because the schedule is crazy,” said the Blues defender.##NAJAVA_MECA_6746806##The tournament – which kicks off on the 20th November – has led to a crammed fixture list at the start of this Premier League season; and the effects are already starting to be felt, with many big name players already ruled out of the tournament due to injury. England’s Euros stars Kalvin Phillips and Kyle Walker, Portugal’s Diogo Jota, and France’s Raphael Varane are set to miss out, there is a growing concern that the quality on display at this year’s tournament will be diminished due to player absence and fatigue. Azpilicueta’s Chelsea side have struggled with injuries this season, with key figures Reece James and N’golo Kante set to miss the World Cup.“Sometimes we have to consider everything and I think we are in conversations with FIFA. It’s difficult because I understand that the fans want to see football. We have five subs now but we have in our team a couple of injuries that make it difficult to rotate. We are playing every few days but it is how it is and we have to step up.”Cesar Azpilicueta: “We are fighting for player welfare because the schedule is crazy. Sometimes we have to consider everything. We are in conversations with FIFA. It is difficult because I understand that the fans and everyone wants to see more football.”https://t.co/RDHqbWUtcR pic.twitter.com/gClituad2K— Simon Phillips (@siphillipssport) October 24, 2022 Chelsea’s busy schedule continues this week as they head to Austria to face RB Salzburg on Tuesday before being hosted by Brighton in the league on Saturday.Not only players but also managers have expressed their concerns. Player welfare has long been discussed by managers such as Jurgen Klopp when discussing the congestion in the football schedule.Last season, his Liverpool side played 63 games and with this year’s Premier League starting early to make space for the winter World Cup in Qatar, his side have struggled to maintain the form this year that took them to the brink of a quadruple last term.Klopp’s men currently sit 8th in the Premier League table, with just 16 points from 11 games and fatigue could be playing a massive role in the Reds’ lack of good results.
