Arsenal manager blasts bloated soccer schedule amid team's injury crisis

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes the accumulation of long-term injuries experienced by some clubs is an “accident waiting to happen” because of the increased demands on players in a congested soccer calendar.

LONDON — Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes the accumulation of long-term injuries experienced by some clubs is an “accident waiting to happen” because of the increased demands on players in a congested soccer calendar.

Arteta said he felt a “big pain in the tummy” after seeing Kai Havertz pick up a serious hamstring injury at the end of a light training session in Dubai that will rule the Germany forward out for the rest of the season.

It further stretches Arsenal’s resources up front, with Gabriel Jesus having ruptured his ACL, winger Bukayo Saka having not played since December because of a hamstring issue and another wide player, Gabriel Martinelli, set to miss the next month also with a hamstring injury.

Two more games per team were added to the first stage of this season’s Champions League, while Arsenal also went deep in the English League Cup — it was eliminated by Newcastle in the two-legged semifinals — and is in a title race with Liverpool in the Premier League.

An expanded and revamped Club World Cup, which takes place in the United States at the end of the season and lasts a month, also extends the schedule for many teams, though not Arsenal this year. Some players have openly complained that it is detrimental to their performance and health and the busy match schedule is facing legal challenges and the possibility of strike action.

https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/soccer/arsenal-injury-crisis-rcna192203

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