Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips has admitted some of the England squad have felt the affects of fatigue more than usual over the international period. The Three Lions have played four Nations League matches in the space of just 10 days on the back of an intense season of Premier League and European football.
For players at the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and West Ham United, the number of matches in the season has been as high as ever, with all four going deep in Europe and the domestic cup competitions. Liverpool played every possible game over the course of the campaign, while Chelsea fell just three short after being knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Questions over the intense schedule for players have been raised on several occasions in recent years, and with a World Cup midway through the season this year, it is only going to get harder. That is despite a minimal period of rest for many of football’s elite, who will be returning to their clubs for pre-season in the not-too-distant future.
READ MORE: Charlie Cresswell set for Leeds United clarity on his future as transfer talks come into view
Speaking ahead of last night’s clash with Hungary, Phillips believes that for some of the players in the England squad the schedule has had an impact on performances in the last two weeks but did claim that has not been the case for him after spending almost half the season out with a hamstring injury.
He said: “The lads that have been playing in the top teams have played a lot of games. To add a few more games you can see them getting fatigued easier than they normally would.
“But for me, I've been injured for large parts of the season so I'm fresh and want to play as many games as possible. We won't use it as an excuse that we're tired. We have a job to do.”
