Bukayo Saka: Why Fans Hate International Breaks as Arsenal Star Pulls Out of England Squad

• Bukayo Saka has withdrawn from the England squad with an apparent injury
• Arsenal fans will be setting on his fitness ahead of the Manchester City clash
• Injuries, coupled with other reasons, are why fans hate the international break

It is that time of the year again when you flip the television channels and all you get are recaps of past matches and maybe an advertisement of the friendly games to come.

Your favourite club, like every other club, has taken a break as players link up with their national teams for the first international break of the year.

Club football enthusiasts often dread this two-week break as they pensively bide their time to see their Chelseas and Arsenals back in action.

But why do fans hate this break? More often than not, there are usually high-profile games on the cards at this time, but that doesn't seem to intrigue them as much as, let's say, Manchester United vs Liverpool or Atletico Madrid taking on Barcelona.

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Sports Brief delves into it.

1. Injury risks

Bukayo Saka has become the latest player to withdraw from the March set of friendlies. In a statement, England confirmed that the Arsenal star had reported to the training camp with an injury and had been sent back to his club for rehabilitation.

Fans and coaches often fear that their players will return to the clubs with knocks sustained from international duty. While playing for Brazil last year, Neymar sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury, which rendered him unavailable for his new club, Al-Hilal, for the whole season.

2. Jet lag and slow recovery

Apart from injuries, players also usually risk being unready for the first game after the break due to late arrivals and long flights from their national teams.

This especially affects players of South American nations whose last games of the break are often held on Thursday morning (European times). By the time they get back to Europe, after a 15-hour plus flight, it is Friday, and they are in a rush against time to be ready for a Saturday match.

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Mauricio Pochettino has been forced to do without his South American contingent on a couple of occasions this season after the break.

3. Breaks disrupt rhythm

Getting into a rhythm in a league as competitive as the English Premier League is very challenging, and when a team hits top speed, no one wants to break.

The aforementioned factors might happen during the break that might affect the team's rhythm. For instance, Arsenal have been imperious since the turn of the year, with Saka playing a huge part in that.

The injury to the forward is believed to be negligible, but Mikel Arteta will be hoping he can recover in time for their crunch tie against Manchester City.

Of course, this can also work in reverse, where a team that was posting dismal results uses the break to pick themselves up and re-strategise.

4. Low-quality matches

We might have some class-A fixtures like England vs Brazil, France vs Germany or even Ghana vs Nigeria during this window, but the number of high-quality fixtures aren't as many as a typical weekend of club football.

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As a fan, you will have to get contented with watching your national team probably play a team ranked way lower by FIFA. Additionally, most friendly games usually don't have a competitive edge to them and, thus, don't have fans excited.

5. Fixture congestion

It always seems that players play week in and week out. Manchester City's midfield kingpin Rodri has, in the past, raised alarm over the huge number of fixtures players are put through.

"I don't remember exactly the games I played, but I talked with the club and the coach because starting 57 or 59 games and playing in 60 is unhealthy. You can do it for one season, but when it's two or three in a row, it can be worse for the team because your physicality can drop," as quoted by GOAL.

Flying back and forth for the international matches, then playing a game every three days, if your team is still in all competitions, ends up being detrimental to an athlete's health and exposes him to injury.

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Norway provide Haaland's update

Sports Brief has also reported that Norway has downplayed Erling Haaand's injury scare after the Norwegian was spotted liming during a training session.

Norway are set to face the Czech Republic and Slovakia in international friendlies before Haaland returns to Manchester.

The striker will lead his side against Arsenal in a blockbuster after the international break, with only a point separating them.