If you thought the first segment of the Premier League season was disjointed and lacking intensity because of the World Cup, just wait for the second portion.
With the global players union FIFPRO sending another warning on Tuesday about burnout, stressing that the next month of action in Qatar will “likely increase the risk of muscle injuries and mental stress”, there are already fears across some English clubs that competitive balance could be skewed heading into the new year.
Those with more key players going far in the tournament are left at an obvious disadvantage - even before factoring the expected increase in injuries.
Who will hurt a hamstring here, or a calf there is impossible to predict. But one of the things that we do know is that Liverpool should be affected to a less severe degree than their big six rivals and despite Erling Haaland being offered time to chill out owing to Norway’s absence Manchester City could easily be left at breaking point.
Here is how badly affected the Premier League ’s big guns could be after the tournament.
Arsenal - 10
Mikel Arteta will have 10 players in Qatar but only three are guaranteed starters - Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey and Takehiro Tomiyasu. England’s Bukayo Saka should feature heavily but Ben White and Aaron Ramsdale may be held in reserve.
Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli are likely to be substitutes for Brazil, William Saliba is not first-choice for France. USA goalkeeper Matt Turner is yet to make an appearance since joining the club.
Among those staying at home are captain Martin Odegaard and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Chelsea - 12
A dozen Blues are in Doha and many will play key roles for their nations. Two of the three in England’s squad - Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount - will play vital roles, Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly are vital to Senegal’s hopes of progressing from Group A, and the likes of Thiago Silva have designs on making it to the final.
But N’Golo Kante, because of injury, Kepa, Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are among those who will go to Abu Dhabi for some warm-weather training - with players in Qatar making the short trip when their teams are knocked out.
Liverpool - 7
Jurgen Klopp may have been consistently critical of this tournament’s timing. Yet he is getting off lightly compared to his rivals.
Alisson and Fabinho are in Brazil’s remarkably talented squad, Ibrahima Konate will be a substitute for France, Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are not guaranteed to start for England, but Virgil van Dijk and Darwin Nunez are key figures for Netherlands and Uruguay.
Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Roberto Firmino and Thiago Alcantara are some of those getting a breather, while Diogo Jota would have been in Portugal’s team were it not for his injury.
Manchester City - 16
Only Bayern Munich will have more representatives in Qatar, which is not ideal when Pep Guardiola has been referring to his lack of top-quality depth since the opening weekend of the season. “We have the smallest squad in the Premier League,” the head coach has said, which won little sympathy since the comment came minutes after Erling Haaland had bullied West Ham.
But it feels like all of his senior players apart from Haaland are in Qatar, with many of them eyeing a run to the final. There are five players in England’s squad, three in Portugal’s and the rest spread across various contenders to go all the way.
Manchester United - 14
It would be a surprise not to see at least one member of Erik ten Hag’s squad in the final seeing as there are three Brazil players, an Argentine, a Frenchman and three apiece in the England and Portugal squads.
Some regulars are remaining at home, though, most notably goalkeeper David de Gea and winger Jadon Sancho.
Tottenham Hotspur - 11
There has been a theory whispered in recent weeks that Antonio Conte, wary of the months ahead, was stressing the need for his players to pace themselves. Maybe it was an excuse for his team’s occasionally flat performances but never has the marathon-sprint cliche been so true.
The problem is several of his more important players are vital cogs for their countries. No one has more players captaining their nations - Harry Kane, Hugo Lloris, Son Heung-min - while the likes of Pierre Emile Hojbjerg will play in every minute they are capable of.
Other Premier League clubs
8: Brighton, 7: Leicester, 6: Brentford, Fulham, 5: Nottingham Forest, Newcastle, West Ham, Wolves. 4: Aston Villa, Everton. 3: Leeds, 2: Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Southampton.
