149,00km – insane stat shows Enzo and Caicedo are in major danger, but Chelsea doubled down | OneFootball

The issue of fixture congestion in football is one that’s only going to gather more headlines as seasons get longer and more intense. FIFPRO have just released a report pointing to the danger of players being overused by club and country.

Enzo named as prime example of overworked players

The report points to Enzo Fernandez as a prime example of where national team demands are putting players who are already at breaking point with their club over the edge:

“Recovery time after international windows is often less than 48 hours – a smaller break than experts recommend – even for South Americans facing long-haul travel back to European and U.S. clubs,” the report reads.

“Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez exemplified this burden, accumulating 195 hours of travel during 29 journeys spanning 149,010 kilometres last season.”

It’s pointed out how this leads to increased injury risk for players.

Is it any wonder we’ve seen the Argentine’s form fall off this season after a hectic summer? His teammate Moises Caicedo wouldn’t be far behind, travelling only slightly less far in each break.

Chelsea continue to buy South American despite internatioanl burden

Moises Caicedo duels in midfield for Ecuador. (Photo by Rodrigo Buendia/AFP via Getty Images)

What’s interesting about all this is that Chelsea have not been put off buying from South America despite having seen how damaging it is to their season to have both of their first choice central midfielders travelling around the world in every international break.

In fact, they’ve upped their South American quota this season, adding Estevao Willian, Joao Pedro, Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Buonanotte to their first team squad.

If the likes of Garnacho and Buonanotte start getting called up for their country again, we’re going to end up even more decimated after every FIFA break. Is this being taken into account by our sporting directors?