'van Persie could be back in late-April' His return-date has been brought forward a couple of times which is great news. He should be back for the World Cup at this rate -- I don't know if this is good or bad...?
I don't like how the countries have say in these issues. The club pays the player his wages so they should have the final say in the player's return.
I think the players should recognize that WC qualifying games and the like are important but friendlies are not, especially when the pro season is in full swing. The nations put pressure on the players to play every time and the media does as well but high-level/franchise players should compete only in important games. Pro clubs should be able to deny the right of their players to compete on national teams for health reasons, as they can in the NBA.
Yeah, they need to put some sort of restrictions in there. All of our players will be tired next season after the World Cup.
