Thiago Silva reveals he's been suffering from 'terrible' HEADACHES after matches

Chelsea centre back Thiago Silva has revealed that he is feeling the physical effects of the Premier League and suffering excruciating headaches after matches.

The 36-year-old Brazilian arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer with a wealth of experience, but having never played in English football before.

It has been a whirlwind start to the campaign for him and his Chelsea team-mates, and Silva has now revealed that it has not been plain sailing physically amid the relentless fixture schedule.

'After my last two games, I've had a terrible headache because there are non-stop aerial duels and a very high pace of play,' he said while on international duty with Brazil, before lamenting the volume of games players are being forced to deal with.

'We have to constantly reinvent ourselves. You lose players because of Covid-19 infections or there are others who get injured because we're playing a lot of games. We're not machines.

'We have seen recent studies showing that it is more likely that we are going to get injured after having played every three days four or five times. It is very worrying for us.'

Silva's comments come amid debates over whether the Premier League should return to the five substitutes rule, having reverted back to three in the summer.

While big clubs and the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola are fighting to change the ruling back to five, smaller Premier League clubs argue it hands an unfair advantage to the teams with star-studded squads.

Silva, meanwhile, now turns his attention to international football, as he looks ahead to matches with Brazil against Venezuela and Uruguay.

The centre back is expected to be involved in the World Cup qualifiers, before heading back to London to continue his spell playing under Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge.