Maurizio Sarri insists Eden Hazard has no problem with being rested.
Having recently featured for his country, Belgian Hazard was left out of the starting line-up for Sunday’s win at Cardiff City, where he came on as a second half substitute.
Speaking at a press conference, Blues head coach Sarri dismissed suggestions that leaving Hazard out of the side is a risky move while the player considers his future amid speculation he could join Real Madrid this summer.
“Eden usually plays in every match, so he knows very well that sometimes he needs to rest. It’s not a problem for Eden,” said Sarri.
The Italian also indicated that N’Golo Kante, who was also rested on Sunday, and Hazard will both return for Wednesday night’s game against Brighton at Stamford Bridge.
Sarri said: “I don’t know at the moment but I think so. They rested in the last match – N’Golo for the whole match and also Eden for 55 minutes.
“We need to consider that N’Golo in this season has played 50 matches and Hazard in 48.
“In the last two weeks they played with their national teams for two matches, so sometimes they need to rest. But they are OK.”