Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has said he is worried about the physical toll the revised Premier League schedule will have on his squad.
City face Arsenal behind closed doors at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday as English football's top-flight returns following a three-month hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Guardiola's players have had just three weeks to prepare having last played a competitive fixture on March 8 -- the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford -- and the Spaniard has said he does not know what to expect against Mikel Arteta's Arsenal.
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"The players came back really well so we don't have any complaints," Guardiola said in a prematch news conference held via Zoom on Tuesday.
"But the way we are right now, I think like other clubs, is we don't know. You ask me how is the team? I don't know.
"[On Wednesday] we will see the level of the team and from then we will see how we will do better.
"We were worried with these three weeks, not like in Spain or Germany -- they have five or six. We know it is not enough but it is what it is. All the people with their businesses and shops, they have to adapt and we have to adapt. I don't know how many minutes will be in the high level."
Premier League clubs face a hectic schedule in a bid to finish the season. City will play a minimum of 11 games in 40 days -- a number that will increase if they progress in the FA Cup -- before the restart of the Champions League in August.
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Following the game against Arsenal, Guardiola's men will have just four days to recover before Burnley visit the Etihad on Monday.
"I think we are ready to play one game but three days after [playing] another one and then four days after that [playing] another one, we are not ready," he added.
"Not just Man City, all the teams. But that's why we have to rotate and use absolutely all the players. The players whose natural physical conditions are better can sustain more time.
"You can play a game after three weeks of holidays but we were two months of holidays lying on the sofa, doing nothing much, and that's why I think the players are not fully, fully fit."
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Guardiola also said Kyle Walker will be available for selection against Arsenal, despite being reprimanded by the club for breaking lockdown rules during the coronavirus outbreak.
Walker was forced to apologise for attending a party with sex workers in April and the City boss suggested the matter was now closed.
"I judge my players on what happens on the pitch," Guardiola said. "Kyle made a brave statement about what happened and the club spoke with him.
"What I want is the best for him and especially his family -- his wife, his kids, his parents. The human being always goes first before the football player and Kyle expressed his thoughts in his statement."
Source: espn.co.uk