Chelsea manager, Frank Lampard, has urged the Premier League to give his team "a fair start", by delaying their first fixture until after the proposed September 12 date for the 2020/2021 season.
The Blues lost three players to injury during their 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup final last Saturday.
Willian also withdrew 48 hours before the game due to a muscular problem. N'Golo Kante was only able to make the substitutes' bench due to a hamstring complaint.
Chelsea's season continues this weekend, when they travel to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League last-16 second leg.
Lampard is worried about the lack of recovery time ahead of the new season.
The Premier League clubs voted to give all teams a 30-day break, which means there will be a staggered start for those still in European competitions into mid or late August.
"Even in a worst case scenario we don't go through against Bayern, the 12th feels too early for me for the players to be start playing again. The players need a break. That is why we have pulled two hamstrings [Christian Pulisic and Cesar Azpilicueta] and had players pull out of the game before this.
"I would like to think the Premier League would look seriously at that and hopefully give us a fair start next season. We deserve to be as a Premier league club competing in the Champions League," Lampard told reporters.
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