Former Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson believes the proposed rule change by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to allow five substitutions instead of the usual three, will help players avoid injury.
The Premier League is currently working towards resuming the campaign next month and players could return to training next week (Independent).
Reports have indicated that some managers have expressed concerns that the players might need more time to become match fit after more than a two-month break (Telegraph).
Earlier this month the IFAB confirmed that teams will be allowed to make five substitutions instead of the three during the ninety minutes in order to help prevent burnout (Football.London).
Robinson believes that it is a welcome change given that players will be expected to play almost every three days when the season resumes.
He felt the rule change will help the likes of Harry Kane, who is returning from a hamstring injury which last saw him take to the field on New Year’s Day.
Speaking to Football Insider, the former England number one said: “It is going to help all clubs.
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“Players will not have played for so long, an unprecedented length of time but they are not going to have had the usual preseason time to prepare for it.
“It will probably be three games a week for most teams so we need to do anything we can to help players.
“It is probably the longest Harry Kane has gone without playing football in his life. To ask him to play three games in a week would be far too much and you cannot risk these players breaking down.
“The five-sub rule will ease that and help players.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I certainly think we need to take measures to avoid injuries. It is inevitable that players will pick up niggles as it will be difficult to get them match-fit after such a long layoff. However, I believe allowing five substitutions will give an unfair advantage to teams with bigger squads as opposed to teams who rely on a few star players.
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