In recent years you've probably heard more and more from Premier League managers criticising the impact that international duties are having upon their players and more specifically, causing injuries.

Recently it's been the turn of Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew and what he is suggesting is the kind of problem that could also be happening to you at grassroots.

Pardew has lost his best player, Fabricio Coloccini, having twice returned from international duty with Argentina, injured. Pardew said that he and his medical staff should be kept up to date with detailed information regarding the training that is happening while his star players are away.

In this day and age such a request is a pretty easy one for the international teams to fulfill.

Technology in sports science is advancing very rapidly, and thanks to GPS monitors it's possible from just about anywhere in the world to analyse a players workload and training.

It makes sense that the people who know these players best be kept in the loop of how hard they are working and training so that they are able to step in and offer advice if they believe players are approaching their training maximum and an injury is likely to happen.

This type of GPS information is becoming more and more popular and in my time working with the professional footballers of Darlington, and even the academy players of Middlesborough, the players had a 'key' that they would use to activate things like treadmills and rowing machines and I could then input the data from the 'key' into a computer and find out exactly what work out they had done that day and importantly how hard they had been working.

For some players this acted as a motivation, but as you can imagine for certain players it didn't go down too well as it meant very little room for slacking.

But data like this can also be used on-field and the English cricket team have for a number of years used this type of equipment and the medical team will advise on optimum heart rates and exertion levels so that fast bowlers like Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad know exactly when to have a break from bowling.

A few extra beeps on their monitors is a better indicator to stop than a hamstring muscle tearing.

At grassroots level, although you may never have thought of it this way, a similar problem is happening.

If you're a keen footballer there's every chance you'll have a team you play for on a Saturday and one on a Sunday. And there's the possibility of a five-a-side through the week.

Each team brings a different warm-up routine, a different way of doing things, sometimes thorough, sometimes lax.

With this sort of inconsistency in preparation methods your body is much more likely to suffer an injury.

Even the surface that you play on can increase the risk of injury. The difference between a hard floor five-a-side pitch and a boggy Sunday morning recreational field is huge.

With the hard floor you are more likely to feel the stiffness in your back and hamstrings and even ankle sprains and the latter you'd be more prone to tight calf muscles.

If you're a coach, think about your fledgling star players.

They will be following your pre-match routine, and then also that of the town team manager and also the school team manager.

There are bound to be inconsistencies and that can lead to injury.

This is also one of the reasons that the top academy clubs like Middlesbrough and Sunderland will immediately impose a ban on their recent young recruits playing for school and Sunday clubs.

Having your players injured playing for their country is one thing, but injured through not warming up properly playing for a Sunday morning team would be pretty demoralising to a manger with ultra high standards.