Manchester City are set to be hit harder by the success of their international players than any Premier League club.

And after coming through last season’s marathon effort, playing more games than anyone else, Pep Guardiola will be hoping that the involvement of his stars in the later stages of the European Championship and Copa America does not impact too heavily on the start of next season.

The Blues have a remarkable 15 players set to be involved in the knockout stage of either Euro 2020 or the Copa America – with 13 progressing with their countries in Europe and the other two, Ederson and Gabriel Jesus, forging ahead with Brazil.

And with City due back in training in early July, with no date set for a return, their ongoing involvement threatens to make a mess of Guardiola’s pre-season preparation, and continue a relentless schedule that has brought no respite since the brief hiatus between last season’s re-booted Champions League in August and the start of the domestic season in September.

The Blues went into the Euros with 13 players in the various squads, if you do not include Spain’s Eric Garcia, who will leave the club to join Barcelona next week, while Gabriel Jesus and Ederson are with Brazil, who have already qualified for the last eight of the Copa America.

All 15 have progressed to the knockout stages of the two competitions and only Chelsea, who also extended last season by facing, and beating, City in the Champions League final had more players involved at the start of the two tournaments, with 16, but Billy Gilmour went out with Scotland, which reduced their complement to 14 in the Euros and Thiago Silva in Copa America.

No City players have gone out – even Aleks Zinchenko’s Ukraine scraped through as one of the best third-placed teams.

Under Fifa rules, all players are entitled to a minimum of three weeks off between seasons, so players involved in the Euro final would not be due back until August 1, a week ahead of the Community Shield clash with Leicester at Wembley on August 7, and just two before they kick off the new Premier League season at Spurs.

And with Brazil favourites to reach the final of the Copa America, on July 10, City cannot expect to have Ederson or Jesus back until the same time.

Pep Guardiola has been a fierce critic of the football calendar, claiming it is putting huge strain on players, leading to fatigue, injury and sub-standard games.

And his players are playing more football than just about anyone. Since the resumption of last season, on June 17 last year, the Blues have played 75 times in a calendar year, and their internationals have played up to eight more games for their countries.

Players often cut short their summer break, afraid that they will fall behind others in preparation terms when the new season kicks off, especially in a competitive squad like City.

Last season the Blues, and Manchester United, both had their opening games postponed to allow for the recommended three-week break between campaigns after being involved in the delayed European competitions – but that simply meant another fixture had to be wedged into a tight and relentless season.