In the not-too-distant past, the arrival on the horizon of a round of international fixtures would find some managers 'having a word' with players.
Club bosses have always hated the possibility of losing key men at crucial parts of the season through circumstances beyond their control. As a result, there have always been stories within the game of players missing call-ups on the back of their manager saying so.
'During my time at Liverpool, I could guarantee three or four lads would — with a nudge from the manager — tell their countries they were injured when they were fully fit,' Jamie Carragher once wrote in a column for Sportsmail.