Cole Palmer and Ousmane Dembélé looked great when they were photographed sitting on Top of the Rock on the eve of the Club World Cup final but it is not being wise after the event to suggest that both might have been better off spending their summer lying on sunbeds.
Top players struggling with fitness issues was foreseeable before the first edition of Fifaâ€s expanded tournament took place. “The worst idea ever,†was Jürgen Kloppâ€s take, citing concerns over the long-term impact of squeezing even more football into an ever expanding calendar. “Last year it was the Copa [América] and the European Championship, this year itâ€s the Club World Cup, next year itâ€s the World Cup. That means no recovery for the players involved.â€
It was not the wildest of predictions. The schedule was already under strain because of fixture congestion caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2022 World Cup taking place in winter and the Champions League increasing in size. Fifpro, the global players†union, has repeatedly warned about rising injuries and player burnout. The response, though, has been more football than ever. The authorities do not take players and managers seriously. The danger is that the best have nothing left in the tank when the World Cup – expanded to 48 teams for the first time, remember – takes place in Canada, Mexico and the US next year.
Palmer is the obvious example. The 23-year-old was the inspiration for Chelsea at the Club World Cup, destroying Dembéléâ€s Paris Saint-Germain in the final, but he has barely been seen this season. The suspicion is that Palmer has played too much. He has been troubled by a groin injury for a year and although there is yet to be any indication that the forward requires surgery it is hard not to feel that he is, as Arsène Wenger used to say of Jack Wilshere, in the red zone.
That should be cause for alarm. A Chelsea or England game without Palmer is a diminished experience. He is an outrageous talent but everyone has physical limits. It is absurd that Palmer has gone three consecutive summers without a proper rest. He helped England Under-21s to win the European championship in 2023, was prominent when the senior side reached the Euro 2024 final and was still turning out for Chelsea until the middle of July last season.
When is it too much? Palmer played 57 games for club and country in the 2023-24 season, his first full year as an established international and Premier League player. He skipped the league phase of the Conference League last season but was involved in the knockouts and was man of the match when Chelsea beat Real Betis in the final at the end of May. The PSG game was Palmerâ€s 55th of the season. He had also represented England in their World Cup qualifier against Andorra at the start of June.
So donâ€t be surprised that Palmer has missed a host of games this season. His is a longstanding problem but it surely could have been dealt with if he had been allowed a holiday last summer. This is not a controversial point. There was no special treatment for Chelsea, who had a compressed, two-week pre-season. The PSG game was on 13 July and Palmer started when a weary, undercooked Chelsea opened the campaign by drawing 0-0 with Crystal Palace on 17 August.
Real Madridâ€s Trent Alexander-Arnold is out with a torn hamstring after playing in the Club World Cup following a draining season for Liverpool. Photograph: Sergio Pérez/EPA
Enzo Maresca was at a loss to predict how the extra workload and lack of preparation time would affect his players. By now, though, it is clear that Chelsea are struggling. Levi Colwill tore an anterior cruciate ligament on the first day of pre-season. Liam Delap ripped a hamstring against Fulham, Dário Essugo has had surgery on a thigh injury. Tosin Adarabioyo and Andrey Santos are injured. Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández and João Pedro are playing through the pain barrier.
Fifproâ€s annual player workload monitoring report concluded that players who competed in the Club World Cup after completing a domestic league campaign were among hundreds at the top of the menâ€s game who did not have adequate pre-seasons, hurting performance levels and increasing the risk of injury. Last week Maresca said in relation to the volume of injuries at Chelsea and PSG: “Probably itâ€s some consequences from the Club World Cup.â€
Will anyone listen? Arsenalâ€s Noni Madueke, who left Chelsea after the Club World Cup semi-final, is out for two months with a knee injury. PSG were without Marquinhos, Kvara Kvaratskhelia, Désiré Doué and Dembélé when they beat Barcelona last week. João Neves and Fabián Ruiz have also had injury issues. PSG were back in action in the Uefa Super Cup on 13 August. The show goes on.
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Also not on the stage at the moment, though, are Real Madridâ€s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jude Bellingham. Alexander-Arnold came off a draining title-winning season with Liverpool, signed for Madrid, featured in their run to the last four of the Club World Cup and is out with a torn hamstring. Thomas Tuchel was saying in May that Bellingham should have had surgery on a shoulder injury. The procedure was put off, though, with the demands of the schedule leading another young player to grit his teeth and keep going.
Why deny it? Some people have noticed that players not involved in the Club World Cup have also had injuries. This is not an adequate defence for the Club World Cup. Players will get injured. Injuries and fatigue have been on the rise. It still feels inadequate when authorities are shoving in more games, in essence jeopardising the product they wish to sell. The football, remember, is not better if the best players are missing or exhausted.
And yes, Igor Jesus played for Botafogo at the Club World Cup and has since looked promising for Nottingham Forest. Yet Botafogo had not played a full season before entering the tournament and went out in the last 16. They were done at the end of June. There is an obvious difference with Chelsea. Igor Jesus was not playing in as intense a league. The striker had not just come off a deep run in the Champions League. Chelsea are even at a disadvantage to PSG, who are by far the richest club in France and are not placed under as much pressure in domestic games.
There is a reason why Tuchel tipped Arsenal and Liverpool to have an advantage over Chelsea and Manchester City this season. City have not appeared to be suffering, perhaps because they went out of the Club World Cup in the last 16, but Chelsea look mentally and physically drained. They are a warning to others. The question is whether Fifa cares.
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