Leeds United discover Premier League players will have eight day break after Qatar 2022 World Cup final

The English top division has announced the dates for next season's competition, which for the first time will have a major international tournament in the middle of it after FIFA chose Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup, then later decided its climate made it unsuitable for summer football.

The 2022-23 season starts on August 6, a week earlier than the current campaign, and ends on May 28, 2023, six days later than this season. The extra 13 days are to accomodate a 35-day break for the World Cup.

Leeds United players such as England's Kalvin Phillips and Brazil's Raphinha will be amongst those hoping to go deep into the controversial competition.

Under the schedule, 16 Premier League matches will be played up to November 13. All teams in the division have played 11 so far this season.

This will give eight days for teams to prepare for the Qatar tournament, which starts on November 21. The final is due to be on December 18.

With the Premier League anxious not to lose its Boxing Day programme, the league will resume then, with 32 league matches to be completed in addition to domestic and European cup competitions.

England played this year's European Championship final on July 11, 33 days before the current Premier League season began even though FIFA is championing six-week rests for players between seasons under their proposed new timetables. The headline proposal is for a World Cup every two years, an idea all 20 Premier League clubs have rejected.

Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane, whose situation was further complicated by a rejected transfer request, yesterday admitted last summer's turnaround was tough.

"It's always hard when you finish a major tournament because it takes a lot of of you physically and mentally and all of a sudden before you know it you're back Premier League in a few weeks.

"I guess you never really have chance to take it all in and learn from what happened and see what you did well and what you didn't. It almost becomes a bit of a whirlwind sometimes and it's just about adapting to that and getting back into the swing of things as quickly as possible.

"From my point of view it's always about getting back to the basics, getting back to the training pitch, working hard there and doing my best.

"We play a lot of games throughout the year so there's not much time to recover and reflect on things."