REVEALED: England stars most at danger of burnout in World Cup heat after punishing Premier League seasons



Adam Lallana ran more miles than any other England player

Southampton star second on overall list with Jordan Henderson third

Olivier Giroud, Yaya Toure and Pablo Zabaleta also in top 10



There are few more frustrating sights than a player who dazzles for his club reduced to a shadow of himself for his country on the greatest stage of all. It is an affliction that players and fans dread: World Cup burnout.

Lionel Messi has suffered from it, Wayne Rooney has been plagued by it and even Zinedine Zidane has succumbed to it. It is no coincidence that Argentina, England and France crashed and burned at World Cups when their star men were exhausted and half-fit from their efforts over a long season.

There are bound to be players on their knees in Brazil this summer too. But who will be the stars who fail to live up to the hype they have created for themselves?



Scroll down to see the distances run by Premier League players heading to the World Cup...



Fresh: Alex Oxlade Chamberlain (centre) was full of running against Ecuador

Running machine: Adam Lallana (centre) has covered more miles than any other English player this season

Making up ground: Jordan Henderson's (right) performances this season have put him on the brink of the England starting XI

Sportsmail has analysed performance data - courtesy of EA SPORTS Player Performance Index - from all 90 outfield Premier League players heading to the World Cup to work out who has expended the most energy for their clubs this season and therefore could be at risk of fatigue ahead of the summer showpiece.

The man who has run the extra mile for his club this season may raise a few eyebrows, but not outside South London.



Mile Jedinak covered an enormous 266.8 miles of turf up and down the country during Crystal Palace’s remarkable and successful survival bid. Good news for Tony Pulis, but potentially bad news for the millions of Australia fans hoping their captain and defensive midfielder can inspire a World Cup shock against Spain, Holland and Chile.

The next two players to have run the furthest for their clubs are two Englishmen, Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson, who have covered 255.7 miles and 236.7 miles respectively. Both played in the warm-up win over Peru at Wembley last Friday night, where England looked leggy and lacklustre.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, meanwhile, provided a breath of fresh air for England against Ecuador, invigorating Roy Hodgson’s attack with speed, strength and stamina before suffering an unfortunate injury which could ruin his World Cup.

Burnt out: Wayne Rooney (left) struggled at the 2010 World Cup as Lionel Messi four years earlier



Down and out: Zidane (centre) struggled for France at the 2002 World Cup

Data courtesy of EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Lead your team to glory in EA SPORTS 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil.



But is it any surprise that the Arsenal midfielder was so full of beans after running just 43.2 miles for Arsenal during an injury-interrupted season?

Lallana played that night at Wembley on the right wing – the position where Oxlade-Chamberlain started in Miami. While the Southampton star has had a wonderful season, he also has plenty more miles in his legs than his Gunners counterpart.

A whopping 212.5 miles more in fact.

When Hodgson selects his starting line-up for the opening clash against Italy he might also want to ponder the fact that six of the England squad feature in the top 20 players to have run the furthest in the Premier League this season.



As well as Lallana and Henderson, left-back Luke Shaw (211.3 miles) is 11th on the list, captain Steven Gerrard (210.4) is two places below him, striker Rickie Lambert (203.6) is 16th and Leighton Baines (197.2), another left-back, is 18th.



Meanwhile, the likes of Jack Wilshere (128.9), James Milner (118.5), Danny Welbeck (109.0) and, surprisingly, Daniel Sturridge (147.7) have burned relatively small amounts of energy, which could mean they hold valuable reserves for the withering heat and humidity of Man aus.

Leading the way: Mile Jedinak has run more miles than any other Premier League player at the Word Cup

Powerhouse: Yaya Toure (front) was integral to Manchester City's Premier League triumph

Midfield maestro: Belgium will be looking to Eden Hazard (left) to pull the strings in Brazil

Overcooked? Steven Gerrard and Leighton Baines (right) have put in the yards this season



Some of the biggest stars of the Premier League also have plenty of miles in their legs. France striker Olivier Giroud has covered 221.1 miles for Arsenal, while Yaya Toure – despite the perception of him as a languid midfielder – has run 215.6 miles, and bother are in the top eight in the list. Chelsea and Belgium playmaker Eden Hazard is not too far behind on 206.8 miles.

But several household names should still have plenty to give in Brazil, such as Robin van Persie - providing he overcomes an injury scare for Holland – whose limited appearances for Manchester Unietd mean he covered just 120 miles on the pitch last season.

Spain striker Fernando Torres (115.1) and Germany forward Andre Schurrle (102.5) should benefit from Jose Mourinho’s rotation of his front players at Chelsea, while Arsenal front man Lukas Podolski (84.7) is another German forward who could have a spring in his step.

But who should be the freshest out of every player at the World Cup? According to these statistics that honour falls to Fulham striker Kostas Mitroglou, who ran just 11.2 miles for Fulham last season.

Greece expects, Kostas.

Premier League players heading to Brazil and how far they have run

