BLACKBURN Rovers legend Simon Garner today warned many more of England's brightest stars could start to suffer from burn-out like David Bentley unless the game's governing bodies do something about the crazy' fixture schedule.

After a gruelling season for club and country, Rovers midfielder Bentley yesterday reluctantly pulled out of Stuart Pearce's England squad for the forthcoming European Under 21 Championships, citing fatigue as the reason for his withdrawal.

The 22-year-old thought long and hard before making his decision, but with his body already feeling the effects of a punishing workload, he knew if England were to reach the final in Holland then he faced the prospect of having just SEVEN days off before he was due to report back for pre-season training with Rovers at the beginning of next month.

Defending Bentley's decision to pull out, Garner (left) said: "I think he's done the right thing, otherwise he would have ended up running himself into the ground.

"The amount of football players are expected to play these days is just crazy. There isn't a season anymore, it's now all year round.

"I know I've had a pop at players in the past for moaning about feeling tired during the course of the season, but they still need a proper break in the summer or some of the game's young players will be burn-out by the time they are 30."

Bentley's season started 11 months ago, when he featured in a pre-season friendly against Accrington Stanley last July, and he has played almost continuously ever since, appearing in all but two of Rovers' 53 games during the course of the campaign, before he then disappeared to link up with England.

He was selected in the B squad for the recent friendly with Albania at Turf Moor and, after impressing manager Steve McClaren, he then received a call-up to the senior squad for the games against Brazil and Estonia, although he was an unused substitute on both occasions.

Nevertheless, Bentley was away with England for the best part of three weeks in total, and he faced the prospect of a further fortnight away with the Under 21s, assuming they go all the way to the final on June 23.

"Someone at UEFA needs to take a long, hard look at the fixture schedule because they are asking too much of these young players," said Garner.

"Why wasn't the Under 21s Championship scheduled for earlier in the summer so it could have run in tandem with the senior internationals?

"It's no wonder players like Paul Scholes have decided to retire early from international football because it's becoming harder to play for both your club and your country. You just never get a break."

Rovers are due to report back for pre-season training on July 2, and they face a crucial Intertoto Cup tie just three weeks later, with a place in Europe the prize for the victors.