England face Andorra this weekend and manager Gareth Southgate could be forced to rest most of his superstars on Saturday.
The Three Lions take on Andorra at the Estadi Nacional in Vella and the pitch in the stadium is artificial turf, something which the players absolutely despise.
As per a report in the Daily Mail, the Premier League clubs are really worried about the fitness of their players which could force the England boss to name a second-string side on Saturday.
The report claims: “Premier League clubs are worried about their England stars playing on Andorra’s plastic pitch, leaving Gareth Southgate with a selection headache for Saturday’s clash.
“Sportsmail has learned that a number of top-flight teams are anxious about the artificial surface at Andorra’s 3,300-capacity Estadi Nacional, feeling that it poses an injury risk.
“Synthetic pitches are notorious for being more stressful on footballers’ joints, with experts believing the surface leaves players more vulnerable.
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“Southgate is likely to prioritise Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier against Hungary at Wembley and could field a weaker team in Andorra. One of Southgate’s key decisions will be whether to start skipper Harry Kane against Andorra.”
Harry Kane is the major worry for England since the forward has a history of ankle injuries and playing on artificial turf could easily cause further problems.
Several other England players like Mason Mount and Phil Foden have just returned from injuries so even they could be rested during the weekend.
Players like James Ward-Prowse, Ramsdale and Ollie Watkins could feature in the starting line up against Andorra and first-team regulars like Kane and Grealish could remain on the bench all night.
England are sitting pretty at the top of their group so Southgate does not need to take any unnecessary risks. Also, they have another game against Hungary next weekend and it’s likely the manager is going to put all his focus on that game.
