There have been no shortage of issues arising from the World Cup being held in the middle of the season. Players and clubs have had to contend with shortened summers, compact fixture schedules, enduring workloads and questions of availability when domestic football returns.
Those who have not received international call-ups will have been able to enjoy a brief break before entering a pre-season of sorts, with Chelsea's stars returning to training on Tuesday. Planning will have been problematic with the return of those from the World Cup likely to be staggered depending on how far player's respective nations reach in the competition, and the Blues will head out to Abu Dhabi on Sunday, perhaps a little unsure who they will have to accommodate while out there.
Nevertheless, that is the hand Graham Potter and other coaches have been dealt for the time being. The 47-year-old is fortunate enough to have some key players still in the building and will hope to see injured stars such as Wesley Fofana and Reece James return in time for another crucial period, unburdened by the rigours of four weeks of tournament football.
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Speaking ahead of the World Cup, Potter was asked about the condition of players upon their return, mentally, in addition to the more obviously physical impact.
He said: "Honestly, it is hard for me to sit here and say what the motivation of another human being will be after the World Cup. Of course, it depends if you win it. I don't know if you can even celebrate it after you've won the World Cup, I don't know. I am asking you guys. If Brazil wins the World Cup, it would be mad if you can't go back and celebrate. Wow, what has the world come to if you can't?
"I could be selfish [and ask them to come back]. That's the challenge of having the World Cup in the middle because the alternative is that you don't go and celebrate despite winning the World Cup, and you are back here in training. Even then, it will be difficult because they've just played a game, whatever the date is, and then they've got to recover. Emotionally, how long does it take to recover from a World Cup final? It could take weeks. They might be on open-top buses here, there and everywhere. And then they need a three-week holiday to get over that celebration. Of course, we are English, so it has been a long time since we've known about that.
"Who is going to be in the final? Hopefully England from our perspective, but who knows? On that point, if you've lost the World Cup final. How long does it take to get over that? Probably not three or four days."
However, a further issue could emerge for the Blues. With two rounds of World Cup football played, Conor Gallagher and Denis Zakaria have yet to feature of even a minute of football for England and Switzerland respectively.
While they will have enjoyed the same training as their teammates, they will not have burned out in the same way, but it leaves the question whether they will be over-worked and without match fitness when they return ahead of the Premier League clash with Bournemouth.
Had the Three Lions clinched qualification with a game to spare, Gallagher's involvement would have been more likely against Wales, but even with talk of Jude Bellingham dropping out of the team, it appears the experience of Jordan Henderson will be preferred. While the former Palace loanee will no doubt keep mentally ready, it will be difficult to avoid the question of whether he will get a chance.
The impact of a player not being involved in a tournament despite being in the squad is not unfamiliar to Chelsea either. Thomas Tuchel was very measured in Ben Chilwell's introduction to his Chelsea first XI following the EURO 2020 campaign where England reached the final.
The pause saw Chilwell return in exceptional form, but given the Blues' recent struggles, Potter would likely prefer to have all of his players firing to get the season back underway to a quick start.
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