World Cup fatigue will stop Chelsea from fielding their strongest
lineup for the first three matches of the new season, according to Jose
Mourinho.
The Chelsea boss will not rush his six World Cup stars, who have had
precious little club preparation, back into Premier League action.
Germany's Andre Schurrle, Brazil trio Oscar, Willian and Ramires and
Belgian pair Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois have missed most of
Chelsea's preseason after their World Cup exploits.
Mourinho admitted being forced to wait patiently while a host of
senior stars shake off their summer exertions is simply a fact of
football life.
"This is modern football," Mourinho said ahead of Monday night's trip
to Burnley. "It's going in this tendency -- more matches, more
competitions, less time to work, even not enough time to have a real
holiday for bodies and brains that top football players need. There's
not enough time.
"In our case we had a group that had good holiday and a good
pre-season, then we had another group because Spain was out in the group
phase, and that allowed us to get five players before we expected.
"So that was good and created a medium group -- but the final group is very late.
Mourinho went on to say that many of his side's players were not
individually ready, but that the team would still be ready for their
Monday match vs. Burnley.
