OPINION
Playing 46 matches in a season for your club is a gruelling ask for any player and most would be cherishing the thought of a summer holiday to rest their legs.
Not Rangers’ Scott Arfield.
The Canadian international was a mainstay for Steven Gerrard last season, establishing himself as one of the most important players at Ibrox with his performances in the middle of the park, missing just 11 games across all competitions for the Light Blues.
As if that was not enough, the Scottish Sun report that the 30-year-old is set for yet more action over the coming weeks, this time for his country.
It is stated Canada are to play Trinidad and Tobago in a warm up game before facing three group stage clashes in the Gold Cup – and progression through to the knock out stages, with the final on July 7, means less and less rest ahead of his club’s Europa League qualifiers.
Those games are crucial to Rangers, who will be looking to once again make the group stages, and Gerrard would definitely rather have Arfield at his disposal to try and ensure victory.
In all honesty though, there is no way the Canada star can be allowed to play through the summer without a break and as a result Gerrard must make the difficult decision of shelving his star midfielder temporarily.
Thankfully for the manager he has other options to call upon in the centre of the park but it does not take away from the fact he will be losing a key member of his side – with a long and arduous season ahead, he must protect Arfield from burnout.