Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell has heaped praise on manager Thomas Tuchel for helping him deal with the disappointment of failing to appear for England at Euro 2020.
Tuchel has previously spoken about seeing mental fatigue in Chilwell, who rarely made the matchday squad for England during the summer and lost his place at club level to Marcos Alonso in the early weeks of the season.
After missing the first six games of the Premier League campaign, Chilwell came back with a bang for the Blues as he scored three goals in his next three games, earning himself a call-up to Gareth Southgate's squad for the current international break.
Ahead of Friday's meeting with Albania, in which Chilwell is expected to start, he opened up on his challenging start to 2021/22.
"I was so eager to get back playing football, it was maybe coming across that I wanted it a bit too much," he said (via the Daily Mail).
"You think 'I'm going back to Chelsea, it’s a new season and the last game I played was the Champions League final' so again, of course it was disappointing because as a footballer I want to play every single match.
"It wasn't so much mental fatigue. Me and the manager at Chelsea had a very honest conversation where he did say to me 'you know, I feel like mentally at the moment you're just, in training, you're pushing a bit too much to try and get back in the team - we love you here, we know the qualities you possess, just relax a little bit, you're going to get back in'.
"It was brilliant to hear and then it was just about being patient and making sure I was ready so that when I was called upon to play, I could do my best. When you've got a manager that talks to you on a personal level, which we're fortunate enough we have here and at Chelsea, it helps."
It was a managerial masterstroke from Tuchel, who has got the best out of Chilwell once again. Alongside Reece James, Chelsea's full-backs have been in sensational form this season, contributing seven goals and four assists so far.
Chilwell added: "When you've got a manager that talks to you and tells you the honest truth about what you need to do to get back on the team, of course it's going to help you and give you a bit of clarity."
Source : 90min