World governing body FIFA has extended the international window by two days in September and October in South America, which could deny Premier League clubs some of their star men.
South America’s World Cup qualifying programme is still trying to catch up on the matches postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
An international window has already been slotted in for January in every Confederation apart from Europe, which prompted the Premier League to leave a weekend free in their fixture schedule, which acts as a winter break.
However, triple headers have also been scheduled in South America for the first two international windows.
Although FIFA rejected a South American federation (CONMEBOL) request for three additional days in their international calendar, it has agreed to two.
It means that matches can now be played on Thursday 9 September and Thursday 14 October.
Amongst the games scheduled for 9 September are Brazil v Peru and Argentina v Bolivia.
Due to the time difference, anyone involved in those games may not return to their domestic clubs until the Saturday, 11 September, when eight of the 10 Premier League matches are due to be played.
