Tuchel may give Lukaku a break

THOMAS TUCHEL fears Romelu Lukaku is suffering mental fatigue after an unyielding year with club and country, and is toying with the idea of giving him a rest. ‘It is difficult to judge whether he needs a break or is it better to keep him on the pitch,’ said the Chelsea boss ahead of tonight’s Champions League tie at home to Malmo. ‘At this moment, I feel Romelu is a bit overplayed. He played in too many competitions over the summer, too many with his country. He played the Nations League and he is a fantastic athlete and such a competitive guy that he never takes it easy. ‘He wants to be out there and win. He wanted to have a good outcome for the Euros and now in the Nations League. ‘If that does not work, well, he always puts it on his shoulders. ‘He reflects about it and I feel he is mentally tired.’ In the last 12 months, Lukaku has scored 43 goals in 64 appearances for his clubs and country. He fired Inter Milan to the Serie A title, although he could not help Belgium fulfil their quest for major honours. They went out in the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 before losing to France in the last seconds of their UEFA Nations League semi-final.

Belgium boss Roberto Martinez let Lukaku leave the camp without playing in their third-place game against Italy, citing muscle fatigue. After his club-record £97.5million move to Chelsea, he started his second spell at the club with four goals in his first four matches. He has not scored in six games since but did find the net against France a fortnight ago. ‘If you play a thousand matches a year it can become heavy,’ said Tuchel. ‘There is simply too much football and too many different competitions.’

Kick-off: 8pm, Stamford Bridge. TV: LIVE on BT Sport 3. Referee: Francois Letexier (France).