The international break is always the scariest time of the year.

While fans of the international game will undoubtedly be thrilled to seeing their teams return to competition, fans of club teams and club managers themselves are always afraid of what may happen.

Take Real Madrid for example. This season alone, Los Blancos have seen their entire depth destroyed by the loss of James Rodriguez, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema during international duty. Rodriguez was a casualty from the September break while playing a friendly against Peru for Colombia. While Modric's recent groin injury was suffered during a Euro Cup qualifier, Karim Benzema was knocked out during a friendly game for France.

And those are only three examples of top players decimated by the break. Add in Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Mario Goetze, Paul Pogba, Alvaro Morata, David Luiz and Andrea Pirlo and you have some major names missing out. One might imagine that Barcelona was particularly thrilled to know that both Luis Suarez and Neymar were suspended from international play and will be safe and sound upon return to practices this week.

The international break situation is not a new problem. In fact, it has been a cause for concern for years. It's just that this particular window has been violent for major players.

The question beckons -- what can be done?

The way the current season is set up, league play starts in August and runs until May. During the Fall, there are three international breaks and in the Spring there is yet another; four opportunities for injuries from a club's point of view. After the club season ends, players either take breaks or head on international duty to participate in the tournament of the year. Just look at the slate after the 2014 World Cup. In 2015, South American sides participated in the Copa America while the CONCACAF sides had their Gold Cup. European players got off "easier" with only two qualifiers taking place. In 2016, the European sides will not have it as easy as they will have their big showpiece tournament. Meanwhile, South American sides and CONCACAF teams are still deciding whether the Copa America 2016 is to take place. In 2017, only a few teams will contest the Confederations Cup and in 2018, the World Cup comes back. Then the cycle begins anew.

One idea would be to have the break in one lumped period of time instead of spread out across months. That would help in two respects. First of all, coaches and players would have more time to train the international sides, leading to less injuries and probably more exciting soccer overall. It would also lead to less interruption for club teams and perhaps even allow for the season to be compressed slightly.

Of course this comes with some downside. When exactly do you do this break? In January when only a few leagues take time off? Do you get other leagues to agree to more time off? Moreover, would international coaches be okay with only seeing players one time in the year and then waiting until either the summer or the return of the window to train again?

The reality is that this is unlikely to change at this point in time and teams will have to figure out ways to keep their players safe. Sometimes it might just come down to International coaches being more tactful about using major players in meaningless games. Just look at Colombia. Jose Peckerman does not have the services of his star James Rodriguez for the qualifiers due to an injury suffered in a friendly for Colombia. Maybe that was not the game to use him for, especially with other players likely needing more playing time to get into top form. Rodriguez was not going to suffer for missing that friendly as he was in top form heading into the game. He likely would have been more useful down the line in this week's qualifiers.