Pearce had nine players withdraw from his England Under-21 squad

England Under-21 manager Stuart Pearce has questioned the wisdom of scheduling English club fixtures so close to international games.

Nine players withdrew from the England Under-21 squad prior to their 1-0 friendly defeat by Italy on Tuesday.

Pearce admitted he was frustrated by the timing of the match, given some players were on club duty on Sunday.

"You're asking players to play two games in three days in February. It's difficult on them," said Pearce.

The former Manchester City boss added: "Why do we have a fixture on the Sunday when the Under-21s right across Europe are playing a game on Tuesday?

You can't undo the importance of international football Stuart Pearce

"We have to be careful of how much we demand of the players."

The friendly in Empoli was an opportunity for Pearce to test his side ahead of the Under-21 European Championships in Denmark this summer but injuries severely limited his options.

Having named his squad, Pearce had five defenders pull out injured in Martin Kelly, Kieran Gibbs, Micah Richards, Chris Smalling and James Tomkins, while Kyle Walker was promoted to the senior squad.

Meanwhile, Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson, Bolton Wanderers' on-loan striker Daniel Sturridge and Aston Villa midfielder Fabian Delph also withdrew from the group.

Everton's Jack Rodwell limped off after 10 minutes of the game against Italy with an injury and Pearce, who had to adjust his team line-up, says he is aware of his "duty of care" to players.

The former England left-back also suggested there is a danger of clubs having too much precedence over the international game.

"If England win something, 60m or 70m people in the country go ballistic," Pearce explained.

"If Manchester United or Liverpool, whoever it may be, win something it's just a small fraction of the population that are very, very pleased.

"You can't undo the importance of international football.

"At the end of a playing career, players have to have a really good balance of a club career coupled with an international career at the top end of the game."

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