Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech and his Morocco team-mates face France in the semi-finals (Picture: Getty)
William Gallas has slammed Premier League chiefs for not allowing players enough rest after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The World Cup final will be contested on December 18 with the Premier League resuming just eight days later on Boxing Day.
Manchester City, the current English champions, sent the most players to the World Cup with 16 stars heading out to Qatar.
Leaders Arsenal sent just 10 and many of them have not featured heavily, including Gabriel Martinelli, William Saliba, Aaron Ramsdale and Ben White.
Gallas previously claimed that the World Cup can help Arsenal win the Premier League, with the Gunners heading into the second half of the season with a five point lead at the top of the table.
Manchester United sent the second most players to Qatar with 14 members of their squad taking part, while top four rivals Chelsea were third with 12.
Liverpool only sent seven players which may hand them a slight advantage as the 2022-23 season gets back up and running.
Man Utd’s Raphael Varane and his France team-mates face Morocco on Wednesday (Picture: Getty)
‘The problem is that [players] have to go straight back to their clubs and there is no recovery time,’ Gallas told Genting Casino.
‘I don’t know how they are going to manage the disappointment of crashing out of the World Cup. It will be very hard.
‘Will the players have the energy to train while thinking about the fact that they crashed out and could have won it?
‘England had a strong squad and they could have won it, that is a feeling that will be hard for these players to forget.
‘I’m not sure how the clubs will help the players. The clubs will need to find the right solutions because the Premier League starts again on Boxing Day.
‘I don’t expect the players who played in the quarter-finals will play on Boxing Day. I think the clubs should let them rest and they should come back in January.’
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