Everton boss Roberto Martinez admits he had burnout concerns for Ross Barkley against Aston Villa.
Barkley headed into last weekend's home clash with Villa having played 73 and 79 minutes for England against Spain and France, respectively.
“His natural physical ability is quite impressive and then what's important is his work as a footballer," Martinez said.
“Ross doesn't need to work in the gym, his intensity needs to come from the football work.
“Playing 90 minutes is what you need at that age in order to develop your body and that has been the biggest improvement in Ross.
“Last week, he played two games with England and coming back for the Aston Villa game was a real worry for myself and the staff because playing at home he needs to get on the ball and have a big contribution, so we were worried how long he could last.
“We all felt that 60 minutes would be the maximum but in the end we took him off to avoid any overload, but for him to play those sort of games with the psychological effort you need to put into games with Spain and France - in such an emotive event - it shows you how far he has come and physically, it is just a platform for his quality.
“He is not someone who needs to work physically, apart from being football fit."
Source: tribalfootball.com