Soccer-Tuchel backs Chelsea players to handle heavy workload

FILE PHOTO-Soccer Football - Premier League - Brentford v Chelsea - Brentford Community Stadium, London, Britain - October 16, 2021 Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel reacts REUTERS/Toby Melville

(Reuters) - A heavy workload for Chelsea's international players may have contributed to their lack of freshness on the pitch in recent games, manager Thomas Tuchel said on Tuesday, but the German backed them to rise to the challenge of competing on all fronts.

Tuchel said striker Romelu 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.