The decision to hold football’s biggest competition in the middle of the 2022-23 European club season will have a detrimental effect on many English Premier League clubs. But do you know which of the so-called Big Six will be hit the hardest? The answer is... Chelsea.
The Premier League will go into World Cup hibernation mode from November 13 and will resume on December 26 and during this time a whopping 20 players from the Blues could be involved in the tournament. That is almost their entire 25-man squad.
Manager Thomas Tuchel has voiced his concerns about the potential impact of Qatar 2022 on the well-being of his players but it has fallen on deaf ears. There is nothing he can do about it as the biggest sports event in the world gets set to kick off on November 20.
Serious injury
He can only hope that all of his players return to England without any serious injury. He will need to get them fresh and raring to go as they pick up where they left off and resume domestic duties.
Chelsea will be challenging for the title and are also competing in the Champions League and Tuchel will need his players to be ready in spite of the physical and mental toll the tournament may have had on them.
Tottenham have 17 players heading to Qatar and coach Antonio Conte is aware of the strain this will have on his squad as he also attempts to make a title challenge and impress in the Champions League.
Manchester City have 15 players, Arsenal have 14 whilst Liverpool are facing the least disruption with only 11 first-team players set to travel to Qatar.
