The former England boss led the Three Lions to the quarter-finals of three major tournaments during his time in charge of the national side.
“It’s more difficult for England than other countries to do well in a big tournament,” Eriksson told The Daily Telegraph.
“You have to have a break. You need to give every Premier League player seven days away to fly to wherever they want. They can have sunshine, relax and then one week of preparation and then start again.
“Owen Hargreaves was the fittest [in tests prior to the 2002 World Cup] because he had the long winter break [with Bayern Munich].
“UEFA did medical research into injuries in the big leagues in Europe from March 1 to the end of the season. England were higher with injuries than anyone else [by four to one].
“You don’t learn, because the Premier League want games to be played all the time. So people can watch it everywhere.”
The Swede added: “The expectations on England are too high. Before the big tournaments start, the expectation with England builds up and up and up, and you are more or less world champions before you have kicked a ball.
“I don’t know whether it is to do with ’66, but you build the players up too much.”
