Swansea City defender Martin Olsson has admitted he is not yet fully fit after his World Cup exertions with Sweden.
Olsson – who reached the quarter-finals in Russia this summer before the Swedes were beaten by England – has played in all five of the Swans’ Championship matches so far.
The left-back was given extra recovery time after the tournament before returning to the club for pre-season training, but came straight into the side for the opening fixture at Sheffield United.
Olsson has played in every match since, but after Saturday’s first defeat of the season at home to Bristol City, he confessed: “For me, I’m still catching up on my fitness.
“I came straight back into it after the World Cup, but I should be back to my level in the next couple of games.
“I’m not used to playing Saturday-Tuesday. I had two weeks off after the World Cup and I’m about a month behind the rest of the team. “They had four or five games before me, so it’s going to take time for me to get my sharpness and feel 100 per cent.
“I came back three days before Sheffield United and I haven’t done any pre-season training. My fitness comes from playing games.
“In training the intensity isn’t like the games, so I’m looking forward to playing more even though I know it’s a long season so I don’t want to rush my body.”
Olsson acknowledged the ending of the Swans’ unbeaten start was deserved after an underwhelming display in the 1-0 defeat at the Liberty Stadium.
It means after back-to-back victories to start, Graham Potter’s side have failed to win in their last three fixtures.
“We want to win every game, but we have to be realistic,” added Olsson.
“It’s a long season and we are not going to play well every single game. We’ve got to trust the process and the way the manager wants us to play.
“There are going to be mistakes because it’s early days and we are still learning, but we have to take the positives. They didn’t create a lot, but we have to go away and keep learning.
“We need to gel. It’s a different starting 11 compared to recent seasons and it takes time to gel together. We have show patience.
“I’m enjoying being a senior player and seeing the younger guys try to express themselves. We’re not putting them under too much pressure because they have to enjoy their football.
“It’s early days but we’ve picked up good points and we’re not going to win every game. We need to change a few things in terms of going forwards, but we had chances and must stay patient.
“When I went up with Norwich we didn’t win in 10 games. This is the first loss, but we must stay patient, be positive, and be as consistent as we can.
“We’re looking good with the young players and experience we have.”
Swansea host Crystal Palace on Tuesday night in the Carabao Cup, but Olsson says he is likely to be rested, along with a number of others.
“I don’t think I’ll play against Crystal Palace. Maybe that’s a rest for me because I’ve been playing Saturday-Tuesday.
“I’ll be ready for the weekend and I’m trying to get as many games in as I can before the internationals. After that hopefully I’ll be feeling strong again.”