Inter vice president Javier Zanetti discussed the increasing number of injuries due to the packed schedule following Joaquin Correa’s withdrawal from the World Cup.
The 28-year-old Argentinian forward was called up by Lionel Scaloni for the World Cup in Qatar but was forced to pull out without kicking a ball due to a knee injury. A number of other stars have also withdrawn from the tournament due to injury, like France’s Karim Benzema and Senegal’s Sadio Mane.
Speaking via La Nación, Zanetti discussed the busy schedule and how that’s created a situation where injuries are becoming more common.
“It’s a point to pay attention to. The players arrive with a certain saturation because they practically played every three to four days between October and November. And they all play in teams that are obliged to win, with the expectations and pressures that this represents.
“It will be a strange World Cup because it has never been played at the end of the calendar year, in the middle of the season for the Europeans, with a series of games compressed into a few weeks.
“Therefore, the series of injuries that unfortunately affected Lo Celso, Nico Gonzalez and Joaquin Correa cannot have been coincidental.”
The fear of injuries has been an important role in the run up to this World Cup. Paul Pogba delayed undergoing a knee operation at Juventus due to fears of missing the tournament and his postponement ultimately proved costly, leaving him out regardless.
Fans in Turin began accusing players like Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes of playing in a relaxed manner in order to avoid suffering any injuries in the run up to the tournament and others like Dusan Vlahovic are entering the tournament with minor issues.