Jurgen Klopp says Harry Kane and his England team-mates may suffer from a lack of rest following their World Cup exploits.
Kane is likely to lead the line for Spurs when they host Klopp’s Liverpool on Saturday as the Premier League returns after the international break.
The England captain has scored twice for club and country since the start of the season and has yet to hit the heights seen in recent years.
But Klopp feels England’s progression to the World Cup semi-finals meant plenty of players were not afforded adequate recovery time.
“We all knew it after the World Cup, especially after England came that far, they have had no rest,” he told Sky Sports News.
“Harry played from the first match on, so maybe he had two weeks holiday – that is nothing,” added Klopp.
“He is a physical worker, he uses his body every day. He cannot get a rest match-wise but he will find his form and maybe at the weekend.”
Klopp, whose side have won their opening four Premier League matches of the season, went on to suggest too much is asked of today’s players from a physical perspective.
“A good pre-season should be at least three or four weeks,” he said. “That is how it is, the body needs the time only to calm down from an intense season – they didn’t have it.
“We ask too much from the players, we constantly want them ready and if they are not we are not happy. It is a weird situation.
“Now with the Nations League, international managers cannot rest players because it is a proper competition. It is a constant challenge for all of us, we will deal with it and it will never be perfect.”