World Cup increases risk of 'burn-out' among some Premier League stars says Leeds United head coach Jesse Marsch

That scenario is what ultimately transpired and Jesse Marsch, firmly with his Leeds United ‘hat’ on, would rather it hadn’t - bearing in mind their first opponents after the international break are Manchester City.

Instead of going deep into the recent tournament, the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan and Aymeric Laporte reported back for club duty a few weeks ago.

City’s England contingent including Kyle Walker and Phil Foden have also been at home for almost a fortnight, with the global competition only ending last Sunday.

The resources at Pep Guardiola’s disposal mean that whatever line-up he chooses to field in four days time will be strong. Events in Qatar have ensured that it will be stronger than most probably expected at the start of the month.

Marsch said: “I would have hoped that more of the Man City players would have gone deeper in tournaments but the tournament is so competitive, it's not easy.

"They have such a great squad and for me, the best manager in the world and a very difficult playing style to prepare for.

“The good thing about our team now is that we are not afraid of the biggest opponents.

"We have proved we can not only play with them on the day, but find ways to get points.

“So we'll use that motivation.”

While City’s World Cup contingent and three Leeds representatives in Tyler Adams, Brenden Aaronsen and Rasmus Kristensen have been back on deck for a short while, players from rival teams who went deep into the final week of the tournament now find themselves having to assimilate back at their clubs during the most hectic time of the season.

Given the amount of physical and emotional energy expended in a World Cup, Marsch does feel some players will face an issue with burn-out on their club return.

He continued: “I think it has the potential to burn some players out. Man City have brought their players back pretty quickly and there's a standard in our business that after big national team tournaments, players need three weeks.

“We only provided 10 days (break) and were fully aware that with the season coming around so quickly, it's important to get them back.

"The physical and mental demands of these big tournaments are very high.

The fact that Adams is suspended for the City clash gives him a bit of extra time to prepare.

Having shrugged off a slight calf issue, the USA captain this week pledged that he will be in contention ‘100 per cent’ for the Newcastle trip on New Year’s Eve.

His last game with the States in Qatar was on December 3.Marsch continued: "First of all for him, it's been somewhat good he has not been available as it gives him a little bit more time to gradually build in as the demands of him mentally and physically were so high in the World Cup.

"He's come out of it in a good way and excited to get back to work and obviously very confident and eager to get going. He's on track personally.”