RALPH Hasenhuttl admits he thinks “it’s definitely a problem sending players all over the world” amid quarantine issues in international football, insisting: “You must definitely block players going somewhere, otherwise you lose them for a long time.”

FIFA have blocked Premier League clubs from selecting Brazil players who they didn’t release to go on international duty, including Raphinha of Leeds, Manchester United's Fred, Thiago Silva at Chelsea, Manchester City's Ederson and Gabriel Jesus, as well as Alisson, Roberto Firmino and Fabinho at Liverpool.

The whole international break was plagued with talk of quarantines and isolations, eventually erupting in bizarre scenes between Brazil and Argentina as Brazilian health officials walked on the pitch and apprehended four Premier League players, Emilio Martinez, Emi Buendia, Christian Romero and Giovanni Lo Celso, after they failed to isolate on arrival in the country after being in the UK.

The game was eventually called off and scenes like that have prompted conversations about what is actually going on in international football currently – right now it doesn’t look sustainable within the football calendar.

Daily Echo: Bizarre scenes as players breaking isolation rules saw the fixture called off mid-match (Pic: PA)Bizarre scenes as players breaking isolation rules saw the fixture called off mid-match (Pic: PA)

Saints manager Hasenhuttl was asked his opinion, and said: “I think at the moment, it’s definitely a problem sending players all over the world to play games somewhere.

“I also don’t understand why at the moment they have to play three games, you have really a problem with preparing for the weekend because they’re coming back on Thursday earliest so you have maybe one and a half day to prepare for the weekend.

“We agreed on two games so the last would be on Tuesday and you have a little more time for our job, to prepare.

“At the moment you have issue with the Covid situation still, travelling is not easy, as soon as you have the quarantine issue you must definitely block players from going somewhere otherwise you lose them for a long time, like you see with the Brazilian players now, you can imagine for the club what it means.

Daily Echo: Che Adams is among a number of current internationals in Saints' squad (Pic: PA)Che Adams is among a number of current internationals in Saints' squad (Pic: PA)

“This is a situation that is definitely not helpful for the players, the player wants to play for the international, this is for sure, but he also wants to play for us as a club. It has to be possible to find a solution where the player doesn’t get under pressure but in the end it is about the player.”

Saints had a number of their first-teamers go out on international duty, including Che Adams, Moi Elyounoussi, Armando Broja, Jan Bednarek, Moussa Djenepo and more – but are fortunately unaffected by any of these aforementioned issues.

Another international break is in the diary for October though, with just four Premier League games coming between now and then, and the situation is unlikely to change itself.

Premier League clubs could face even more similar issues regarding internationals in just four weeks’ time.