Gareth Southgate is ready to give his England players a week’s holiday before the Euro qualifiers this summer.
But Manchester City stars John Stones, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden could face the longest season in history if they reach the Champions League final. The 2022/23 campaign has been extended into June with the final Premier League fixtures on May 28, the FA Cup final on June 3 and Champions League final on June 10.
England also play in Malta on Friday, June 16, and then North Macedonia at Old Trafford three days later which extends the season into the third week of June with many clubs returning to pre-season training less than a month later. It will not be the first time that fixture backlog has hit Southgate’s plans and, to ease the marathon campaign, England will stagger the reporting-up times for the squad get together ahead of Malta and North Macedonia.
