Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has stressed his frustration about the international break and claimed several of his players are tired after a heavy workload in the last fortnight.
The Blues have had a two-week period off, with their last game a 2-0 defeat away to Everton in the Premier League.
They have been able to regroup ahead of a final push this season, but a number of individuals have been busy with international duty.
English pair Ross Barkley and Callum Hudson-Odoi each played twice in qualifiers, while France’s Olivier Giroud and N’Golo Kante were also in action for their nations.
Belgium captain and Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard was another who didn’t get much of a break during March.
Chelsea return to action away to Cardiff City on Sunday, but Sarri has admitted his concerns in his pre-match press conference about tiredness.
“Not for me, we have players tired now. Kante, Giroud, Hazard, played three matches in seven days and now we are not in October, they are more tired. We need to recover. I had the whole squad only yesterday. I saw some were tired,” Sarri said, as quoted by Football.London.
Chelsea can’t afford many more slip ups if they want Champions League football next season and that’s why they need their star players on top of their game.
It’s the likes of Hazard and Kante that are as always integral to any success in the next few months, but it would be brilliant to see teenage sensation Hudson-Odoi get a real go too.
The Blues currently sit sixth in the league table and could need a near-perfect finish to break into the top four, but there is also the back-up of the Europa League if they need it.
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