With 17 Manchester United players jetting off for international duty over the next fortnight, Erik ten Hag will be left with a threadbare squad at the most inconvenient of times.
Such breaks rarely come at a preferable time for club managers, and Ten Hag in particular will be concerned not to lose the momentum gathered in the months between the World Cup and now. United returned from an unprecedented winter break in scintillating form, winning eight consecutive games and going on to win 19 of their 25 in all competitions.
Wins against Barcelona and Real Betis saw the Reds into the last-eight of the Europa League - where they will face Sevilla - while Sunday's chaotic 3-1 win over Fulham booked a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals and a tie against Brighton & Hove Albion. Among those performances came the small matter of a first trophy in six years with victory over Newcastle in the Carabao Cup.
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United will have around two months left of their season once they return against the Magpies in the league on April 2 - give or take a few days dependent on their progression into the finals of both Europa League and FA Cup - and could play up to 19 games in that period at a rate of roughly one every 3.2 days.
Regular midweek fixtures will allow little to no time for Ten Hag to work on anything major with his squad, and with the vast majority away from Carrington between now and the trip to St James' Park next month, the Dutchman faces a problem preparing for a crucial run in.
United's picture was very different before the last conventional international break in September, with defeats by Brighton, Brentford and Real Sociedad in Europe painting a picture of a side far from their best. Ten Hag faced a similar problem in seeing most of his players leave to represent their countries, restricting his ability to work.
“I don’t have the players," the Reds boss said of his plans for the break last year. "What can we plan? We can plan work structures with the players who will be there. They will get a break but also have good sessions.
"We can work on specifics but, when 90 per cent of the squad is not there, we cannot work on development. That is clear.”
Marcus Rashford has already been forced to withdraw from England duty after picking up a knock in the FA Cup tie with Fulham, but those who have flown out are expected to play a major part in representing their nations. United fans will take some solace in the knowledge that massive development is not necessary, as it was last September - more a case of carrying on where they left off on Sunday.
Nevertheless, a game every three days will leave Ten Hag with little time to implement any improvements ahead of a pivotal two months in which his side could land two more major trophies and cement their place in the top four. A fortnight with even some of his regular first-team players would have been treasured.
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