Kimmich welcomes packed schedule: "Maybe I'm making myself a bit unpopular..."

Over the past few months, there have been a number of complaints from players about the amount of games they have to play over the course of a season.

Joshua Kimmich, however, has taken a different stance, saying that he enjoys a packed schedule.

"Maybe I'm making myself a bit unpopular, partly because I'm someone who always likes to play, who likes to have a lot of games. I'm also looking forward to the Nations League games," said Kimmich at a media round at the German national team camp.

"There will always be injuries in football. The squads are getting a bit bigger and you can make substitutions more often. I'd rather have a week with several games than a regular week. It's more fun to be on the pitch. 

“I don't know if you get injured less with fewer games. A lot of serious injuries are accidents. But muscular injuries are certainly linked to high levels of strain.”

At the beginning of September, FIFPro, the world's players' union, published a report calling for protective measures to be put in place to limit players' travel and allow for breaks and adequate rest to allow athletes to reach their performance limits.

Manchester City star Rodri made headlines last month when he threatened to go on strike if the number of games continued to rise. Shortly afterwards, the Spaniard suffered a serious knee injury that will keep him out of action for months.