The reason why the international breaks need to be curbed

The international breaks have always been frustrating for the fans who closely follow the club football. It gets even worse, when players suffer injuries and the clubs have to pay for that. This international break has been no exception as some big names suffered injury blows during the recently concluded break.

One of the biggest blows came to Manchester United, who are already struggling in this campaign. Manchester United custodian David de Gea suffered an injury that could possibly rule him out of the club's weekend fixture against arch rivals Liverpool (though he is in the squad). The North West Derby has always been one of the most anticipated games in not only England, but also around the whole world. Now, Manchester United might have to play that game without one of their best players.

De Gea acquired groin injury while making a clearance during Spain’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Sweden, and was substituted after the hour mark. The extent of the injury is yet to be confirmed but it looks likely that Manchester United could be without the Spaniard against Liverpool who are yet to lose a single point this season.

Chelsea were hit with multiple blows during the international break. As many as four Chelsea players suffered injuries during the break. Defender duo Reece James and Andreas Christensen both suffered knocks and were missing from Chelsea's home fixture against Newcastle this Saturday, which they won 1-0. Midfield duo of Ngolo Kante and Mateo Kovacic were also down with minor knocks, with the Frenchman missing the game and the Croatian coming on as a sub in the second-half.

Internazionale's forward Alexis Sanchez, on loan from Manchester United, looks like the biggest victim of the international break. The Chilean  dislocated his ankle while playing for Chile. It must be frustrating for him as he was just starting to resurrect his form with Inter and now has to make another comeback. 

Real Madrid duo, Luka Modric and Gareth Bale also acquired injuries. The duo were playing against one another and both suffered seemingly minor injuries. Bale was substituted late in the game while the Welshman ended the match clearly in discomfort. They both missed Real Madrid's La Liga trip to Mallorca this weekend, which the former champions of Europe ended up losing 1-0.

PSG  forward Neymar also got his name in the dreaded list as the Brazilian's injury nightmares continue to hamper his game. With this being the current situations of injuries coming from a single international break, does the footballing world really need such matches?

Playing Euro or Copa or World Cup qualifiers is still understood, but is there any real importance of the insignificant friendly games? FIFA should seriously consider removing them to help the players work on their long-term fitness. So that they can contribute for a longer period of time and avoid burn-out.