Qatar 2022: FIFPro report exposes overworked players

"After a packed first half to the current league season, the average preparation and recovery time for many players will be seven and eight days, respectively, about four times less than usual. This is likely to increase the risk of muscle injuries and mental stress," said FIFPro in a report on the workload of players selected for the 2022 World Cup between 12/07/2021 and 24/10/2022 (document available to download), published on 15/11/2022.

"Portugal is the most overworked of the 32 squads followed by Brazil and Mexico based on the combined minutes played by those selected for the final squad since the start of the 2021-22 season," added the international federation of professional footballers.

"Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands) is the World Cup player with the most minutes played in this period. Joao Cancelo (Portugal), Sadio Mane (Senegal), Antonio Rudiger (Germany) and Kane (England) also played more than 7,200 minutes in the same period - the equivalent of 80 games of 90 minutes," according to FIFPro's report.

"Overwork is not exclusive to Europe's 'Big Five' leagues" (FIFPro)