Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is hoping Romelu Lukaku and his other star players can shrug off fatigue to rise to the challenge of competing on all fronts.
Tuchel said Lukaku, who has failed to score in his last six games for the club, could be feeling the effects of a busy schedule after leading the line for Belgium at the European Championship, where they reached the quarter-finals.
Chelsea host Swedish side Malmo in the Champions League on Wednesday night, looking to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat by Juventus in their last group game.
Tuchel watched Lukaku, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and the rest of the squad tune up in training and said: "We lack a little bit of form and enthusiasm in the last per cent and one big reason is we play too much. Not as a club but the players.
"In this moment I feel like Romelu is a bit overplayed, he played too many games over the summer. It is difficult to judge if he really needs a break or if we need to keep him on the pitch.
"This is what I feel particularly for him, some other players too, like with Mason (Mount) and Jorginho, they have a lot of weight to carry for their countries and they take it and they love it and they are competitors. If you play 1,000 matches a year, it can feel heavy."
Chelsea are second in Group H with three points from two games, three behind leaders Juventus, while Malmo are bottom and have yet to pick up a point.
A gallery of the Chelsea stars in training is above. To see the next image, just swipe.
