I would like to see a law that says there must be a six week break

Steve Slattery

Squad rotation

He said that with club commitments, England duties and World Cup and Championship League matches the top flight players could end up playing as many as 60 matches a season.

This does not give their bodies the vital time they need to recover from the wear and tear of the football season, he said.

The heavy match load, coupled with the demands of training and a lack of sufficient time for recovery, puts footballers at risk of what is known as overuse injury.

This occurs when tissue is subjected to repetitive stress that exceeds its ability to adapt and repair. The muscles and tendons are particularly vulnerable, but injuries can also occur to the ligaments and joints.

Tackling and collisions cause 40% of all injuries and 7% of them occur again and again in the same areas.

Most clubs rotate their squads, but even so top flight players like David Beckham are likely to have strenuous seasons.

Mr Slattery said this takes its toll on the players, who are often left bruised and battered and in need of TLC.

He said: "Players love to play for their country and want to play for their managers, but the current England manager is acutely aware of the problems."

Law change

In Italy players are forced by law to take a month's break away from football to recoup before the next season. Mr Slattery would like to see a similar system introduced in England.

"We played our last England game on June 6th against Greece, most of the players reported back for duty with their clubs about a month later.

"The law states in Italy that they are not allowed to have anything to do with football at all for a month.

"They also have mid-season breaks. I am not suggesting that, as it is good to keep it ticking over in the winter months, but I do say they should have a longer break in the summer.

"I would like to see a law that says there must be a six week break."

And Mr Slattery said this was a policy he could see getting a lot of support from top club managers like Alex Ferguson of Manchester United and Arsene Wenger, from Arsenal.

Top flight managers like Sir Alex Ferguson try to protect players from injury

Earlier this year a study, backed by the FA, showed that training injuries among footballers tend to peak in July, with match injuries reaching their height in August during the first month of competitive play.

The researchers said this could be because many players had not yet reached their optimal fitness levels.

Accidents

West Ham goalkeeper David James had been playing for just over a minute when he picked up his cruciate ligament injury in the England v Holland friendly on Wednesday.

The injury could keep him out of football for several months.

But, Mr Slattery explained, all the pre-match training in the world can not rule out accidents like this.

For the more routine wear and tear however, massage and physiotherapy can eliminate some of the problems.

In the lead up to an England match Mr Slattery will offer each player three-quarters of an hours massage.

But Mr Slattery said all the top clubs provided individually tailored training programmes for players and that club staff made it a top priority to keep their players healthy.

"Our role is to make sure that the players are in the best state possible.

"The players will come back into pre-season training and each player will be given an individual programme to make sure they are ready for the season.

"The welfare of the players is the most important thing."