Trent Alexander-Arnold has spoken out about the schedule that modern day Footballers are having to endure in the advent of increased fixture congestion.
The coronavirus pandemic has put immense strain on athletes as sporting leagues across the world have looked at ways to continue their seasons as normal as possible.
At the outset it seemed to be a impossible task but thanks to the professionalism of the key figures, it seemed to go off without too many significant hitches.
But as we move ever so slowly into the next phase of learning to live with the virus before a vaccine becomes widely available, we also start to learn more about the physical toll that these players have had to endure.
As football lovers, we see our heroes on the pitch a couple of times a week and either celebrate their fine performance, or criticise if they are a bit off their game.
And while they certainly get paid a lot more than the common man or woman in the street, they are still human after all.
The right-back who is currently sidelined with a calf injury, gave a fascinating and very mature insight to the Mirror into life as a Football during this uncertain time.
“We get paid to play football, so we can’t complain about having to play games but It’s not right to put a human body through so much intensity.
“You look at marathon runners, people who do triathlons and cyclists on the Tour de France. They train for so long to compete in such quick succession.
“You have to train for those sort of distances – and our bodies aren’t trained to do that. We have 90 minute hits, we have to recover from that.
“But when you’re asked to do that so quickly, it’s not fair and the human body cannot cope with that.”
The off-season break that players are customarily used to was considerably reduced due to Premier League wanting to start the new season in early September.
While there may be some of in the wider community who may thing that players had a three month lay-off from March to June, Trent said it was anything but a holiday.
“You’ve got to think that of the three month lockdown, we had to try and stay as fit as possible.We were doing four or five sessions a week, not knowing when we were going to come back.
“We had to stay relatively match fit in case it came back on quickly and going straight back into games. It hurt a lot of players without much of a build-up.”
The 22 year-old says that the physical toll from that resumption and the condensed fixture list due to league officials wanting to finish the current season on schedule is now being starting to be seen.
“I think it’s proven by now that the main source of knee, ankle and joint injuries is from fatigue.
“It’s because you are tired and when you land, you are not really putting your leg in the right position, you don’t have the energy to absorb the jump or the landing.
“I think I had maybe three or four training sessions before I played 80 minutes and, from there, I was straight into the season.”
The England international says he is someone who aims to keep himself in fine condition away from match day action.
“A lot of people think you just turn up and play. But it’s 24/7. I’m always questioning everything.
“What I eat, how many hours of sleep I need, I have to question whether it’s going to be beneficial or hinder me. If it’s going to hinder me, then I have to say no.
“The fitness levels we need as a team need to be up there with the highest in the league, if not the highest in Europe as well.”
Recommended Comments
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.