Everybody's Injured and Other World Cup Fun

After it was revealed that Arsenal's William Gallas will be out for the rest of the season, France coach Raymond Domenech revealed (no doubt with typical Gallic elan) that he was "livid and pissed off" with Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger.

Wenger had, for reasons best known to himself, chosen to play Gallas against Barcelona despite the player only having had two training sessions since returning from injury. The result was predictable.

Now, inevitably, Gallas' will have to fight to be fit for the World Cup Finals. And he joins a long list of Premier League players in the same position.

Cesc Fabregas is also out for the season with a broken leg, Ashley Cole has a fractured ankle, Aaron Lennon has been missing for months...the list goes on.

These kind of injuries are becoming increasingly common and the reason isn't just the large number of games Premier League players are expected to play during the season. The reason is this: the football season never actually finishes.

All the big teams - no, scratch that, all Premier League teams play pointless tournaments in what used to the off-season, they go on lucrative foreign tours. In short, modern footballers play football all year round and their bodies never get any recuperation time. Hence, the increased likelihood of serious injury.

Put simply, Premier League clubs' greed is responsible for the World Cup potentially missing some of it's star names.