Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is worried that playing in the Copa America will be too much for Alexis Sanchez after a hectic season and the World Cup last summer.
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The Chilean has played 54 games for club and country since the World Cup, in which he had an extra four matches in Brazil. With his high energy style there is a serious possibility of burnout, and if anything it is surprising that the 26-year-old hasn’t suffered from tiredness yet.
At the competition this summer he his expected to play at least another three games in the group stage, and then more depending on how Chile do in the tournament. This will add further strain on the forward, who has been key for the Gunners this season. Without his 24 goals and nine assists it is debatable whether the North London club would be able to finish third in the Premier League with the FA Cup final still to come.
This could also have an effect on next season, with the former Barcelona man potentially tired or injured for the early stages of the campaign.
“I feel this competition is a bit too much,” Wenger is quoted as saying by the Daily Star.
“I will watch it, but with a little bit of fear because Sanchez has played 50 games for us and goes there again, having already played in the World Cup last summer. I am really surprised that FIFA authorised that.
“It is disappointing that they speak a lot about the health of the players, but when you look at the competition that is organised, this Copa America, and look at the date of the start of the Premier League, it is not reasonable.”