LONDON – Tottenham forward Son Heung-min has become the latest soccer star to publicly raise concerns over the number of games players are being asked to play.
The South Korea international said there was a “massive” risk of injury to players in the face of the demands being placed on them.
His comments came after Manchester City midfielder Rodri said last week that players were close to taking strike action. Days later, Rodri sustained knee ligament damage.
“You don’t want to see players struggling with injuries. No one wants to see it,” Son said Wednesday. “A lot of games, a lot of traveling. We’ve got to look after ourselves, which sometimes is very hard.
“Mentally, physically, you’re not ready. Then going on to the pitch and then the risk of injury is massive. We’re not robots. Don’t get me wrong, we love playing football. That’s clear.”
Rodri has ligament damage in his right knee, City said Wednesday without giving a time frame for his potential absence. He was injured during City’s Premier League game against Arsenal on Sunday when jostling with Thomas Partey in the box at a corner.
Son said he agreed with Rodri’s concerns.
“Rodri said the right things. We play 50, 60 games and not more than 70 games. When the fixtures come, the players have to play. There’s a lot going on,” he said.
Last week, City manager Pep Guardiola said it was up to players to force a change in soccer following the growing dispute over the congested schedule.
The Champions League has been expanded this season with two more games in the new-look group stage. Next year’s expanded Club World Cup in the United States will be a 32-team event for the first time, up from seven. It is slated for the offseason for many major leagues in June-July.
The new Club World Cup format has prompted a legal challenge from players’ unions.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou said players may make a stand.
“They may take things into their own hands. They’re the ones most affected to be honest, so you would understand if they started to think as a collective, how much are we going to have to continually not have a say in?” Postecoglou said. “I have spoken already about the fact we’re getting to a real dangerous level about what our expectations are around players. Instead of focusing on one or two tournaments, it’s about the calendar. That is more of an issue.”
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