Swindon Town midfielder Danny Butterworth said that playing lots of games comes with the territory following discussion of a potential strike among footballers.

Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri has sparked discussion lately around a potential strike amongst footballers over the number of games they have to play in a season.

With ever-expanding competitions and increasingly short breaks during the off-season, there has been talk over recent seasons about how much football players are expected to play and Rodri suggested a player strike was possible.

 

 

As reported by PA, Rodri said ahead of his injury against Arsenal: “I think we are close to that. I think if you ask any player he will say the same.

“It is not the opinion of Rodri or whatever. I think it’s the general opinion of the players.

“And if it keeps this way, there will be a moment where we have no other option, I really think, but let’s see.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen but it’s something that worries us because we are the guys that suffer.

“From my experience between 40-50 is the amount of games in which a player can perform in the highest level.

“After that you drop because it is impossible to sustain the physical level.”

Many players and coaches have come out in support of Rodri since, including Heung-Min Son, Enzo Maresca, and La Liga president Javier Tebas.

Son said: “Mentally, physically, you’re not ready. Then going on to the pitch and then the risk of injury is massive. We’re not robots. Don’t get me wrong, we love playing football. That’s clear.

“It’s normal that everyone is at high risk of injury. It’s not fair. Rodri said the right things. We play 50, 60 games and not more than 70 games. When the fixtures come, the players have to play. There’s a lot going on.”

The Adver asked Butterworth what he thought of the workload he is expected to perform with 46 league games with three cup competitions on top, meaning players can easily play more than 50 games in a season.

He said: “For me personally, it is just one of those things, you get paid to do it, so get on with it. I don’t really have a problem with it.

“You train to play games, so everyone is going to be sore and tired and things but that is why you have a squad.”