"It is difficult to judge" - Thomas Tuchel on whether 'overplayed' Chelsea star should be rested or not

Romelu Lukaku was hailed as the missing piece of the Chelsea puzzle when he returned to Stamford Bridge this summer. After two excellent seasons with Inter Milan, the Belgian returned to the Premier League in a £97.5 million trade.

Lukaku made an immediate impact in his second stay with the Blues, scoring four goals in his first four outings. However, the 28-year-hot old's start has faded and he has failed to score in his previous six outings. In recent games, Chelsea's strength has been in their defense rather than their attack, as it was the previous season.

Given his astronomical price tag, Lukaku's mini-drought is disheartening, and Tuchel has blamed his goal-shy form on the club's hectic match schedule. After appearing in the Nations League semi-final against France, Lukaku was forced to retire from the Belgium squad owing to muscle exhaustion.

"We are in the process of adapting to each other and in my opinion, I feel Romelu is being overplayed," said Tuchel ahead of Chelsea's Champions League clash with Malmo on Wednesday. "I think he played too many competitions over the summer, with his national team and now the Nations League."

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel may be forced to rest Romelu Lukaku

Romelu Lukaku in action for Chelsea

Lukaku reached the quarterfinals of Euro 2020, where Belgium were defeated by eventual winners Italy. Tuchel is now questioning whether he needs a break from first-team action. The Chelsea boss added:

"It is difficult to judge. Does he (Lukaku) really need a break, or is it better to keep him on the pitch? The next national break is coming up, but this is what I feel particularly for him and some other players too."

Lukaku's situation at Manchester United is strikingly similar to Cristiano Ronaldo's. Although Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was understandably hesitant to rotate CR7, he did so for a Premier League match earlier this month, unlike Tuchel.

Ronaldo was benched by Solskjaer for Everton's visit, which came three days after the 36-year-old played 95 minutes in a hard-fought win against Villarreal. The decision backfired for the Norwegian as United were held to a 1-1 draw by Everton. Ronaldo failed to make an impact as a replacement.

Tuchel will be apprehensive about risking losing points in the Premier League by benching Lukaku in the same way. It will be a bigger concern given Chelsea's lack of depth at centre-forward. However, given the German's concern over Lukaku's physical state, he may be forced to rest Lukaku, as Solskjaer did with Ronaldo.