Premier League clubs have been warned to prepare for another season of injury chaos, with the World Cup set to put players at even greater risk.

Experts believe the busy campaign, with a shortened pre-season and a World Cup in Qatar, will create “a perfect storm” for players to suffer more injuries.

Premier Injuries research has shown that many of the English outfield players who featured at Euro 2020 suffered a substantial drop in Premier League minutes last season due to rotation or injury, adding to concerns for the welfare of Gareth Southgate’s team.

The stars missed more than 2,700 Premier League games between them last season as 677 injuries and absences left players sidelined for more than 53 years combined – an increase of almost 6% on the previous season .

The impact on these players has continued throughout England’s current fixtures, racking up four games in 16 days, as both Kalvin Phillips and James Justin have suffered injuries.

To host the World Cup from November 21 to December 18, the Premier League starts a week earlier on August 6 and then resumes on Boxing Day, eight days after the final.

Leeds’ Kalvin Phillips was one of those who felt the impact of a busy summer last season

Some clubs have asked players to report for pre-season training as early as June 27, just 13 days after the England international against Hungary.

“Research will tell you that we are in danger of creating the perfect storm,” said Ben Dinnery, injury analyst at Premier Injuries. The Sunday Mail. “I always use the analogy of a bucket under a dripping tap. You don’t see any problem until it reaches the top, then it overflows and players crumble.

“The situation is not ideal in terms of recovery compared to last season, so get into those international fixtures that have been announced. The Premier League is brought forward a week when those players really need to leave and to recharge their batteries.

“We could see the players back on the pre-season training ground in the next three weeks. The players are therefore arriving before the new season and the red flags are already ringing. All of these things can combine to increase the risk of a setback or injury.

How players suffered after a grueling season followed by long European Championships

Jurgen Klopp has spoken about the stars’ workload and will no doubt be concerned

“It is obviously a worry and a concern. Managers are more aware that you cannot continue to play with the same core of players as you could a few seasons ago. There is a lot more rotation.

A recent Fifpro (players’ union) survey revealed that almost 90% of players wanted to limit the number of consecutive matches, while 88% of coaches believed that players should not play more than 55 matches per season.

Wales and Real Madrid star Gareth Bale kicked off the ‘crazy’ schedule and said it was wrong that a player like Belgium and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne could play almost 80 games this season.

Champions League clubs will also play matches every week instead of the usual two- or three-week intervals in order to prepare for all of their group games ahead of the World Cup.

Gareth Bale hit the pileup and said playing nearly 80 games this season was wrong

Premier Injuries have looked at how English outfield players’ Premier League minutes last season at Euro 2020 compared to their average from the previous two campaigns. Eleven of the 17 players analyzed suffered withdrawals, many of them due to injuries. Players like Phillips, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw have all missed significant portions of the season through injury.

However, the concerns aren’t just for those in the World Cup. Zone7 uses artificial intelligence to advise clubs like Liverpool on player workload management.

“Clubs will have to think hard about how best to deal with players who stay at home,” Zone7 performance director Rich Buchanan said.

“They will potentially be most at risk of injury due to disruptions to their normative training. We often see an increased risk of injury around international periods and the working hypothesis is related to the disruption of the normal training rhythm.

“Will clubs stick to their regular training cycles or do something completely different? Finding the right balance will be essential.