As players from the Portuguese national team continue to give countless interviews, Fulham star João Palhinha spoke to the local press again.
This time quoted by Radio Renascença, he talked about how tough the season has been and how that could lead footballers to get more injuries.
Palhinha said the schedule involving clubs and country has been too tight, and no one is looking for a solution.
“There have been more injuries this season than others. It is difficult to prevent so many injuries with so many games, even with clubs in excellent conditions. You have to be aware when a certain limit is exceeded and think about the player’s physical health. Several people have already mentioned this issue, but, unfortunately, it has not yet had any impact,” he said.
“We need to think about periods of games, travel and that makes us reach a point of great physical exhaustion.”
Since the national team has been making use of a bigger rotation in the squad, the Fulham player claims he sees a better situation there.
“This allows us to have some rest, although in the national team the situation is different. When we arrive here and wear our country’s shirt, the tiredness is a little behind.”
Palhinha has indeed been playing a lot for Fulham this season, with 2433 minutes in 30 appearances, having only missed a few Premier League matches due to minor injuries and a suspension.
The situation has been different in Portugal, not only because of Roberto Martinez’s rotation, but also because they had a perfect campaign in the Euro qualifiers.
That allowed the manager to rotate a lot more and keep everyone happy, especially those who were looking for a chance.
With the national team now playing a couple of friendlies, we’ll see whether Palhinha will be on the pitch.
