Tammy Abraham: Bristol City striker's schedule 'unbelievable', says Lee Johnson

Tammy Abraham had never started a professional game before joining Bristol City

Bristol City boss Lee Johnson says he has given on-loan Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham a break because of his "unbelievable" playing schedule.

The 18-year-old has scored five in seven games for the Championship side since joining for the season in August.

"He hasn't had more than four days off at any point in the last three years," Johnson told BBC Radio Bristol.

"Rightly or wrongly I've just given him 11 days off because this is a kid that's had 80 games on the spin."

Abraham represented his country at the European Under-19 Championships this summer, but was forced to withdraw from the England U20 squad for two recent games against Brazil with an ankle problem.

He made two appearances as a substitute for Chelsea in the Premier League towards the end of last season.

"People like Tammy Abraham have had, I think, 80 games on the spin with no rest and it's unbelievable," added Johnson during an hour-long interview on BBC Bristol.

"He's gone from playing Chelsea youth football all the way to the end of the season, straight into an international tournament, straight into pre-season.

"He loves football, and even yesterday I rang him and he was in the garden playing one-on-one with his brother - I was like, 'get in, you're supposed to be resting'.

"We can't put too much pressure on him because he's an 18 year old boy, but such is his character and his personality that I believe he will continue to score goals."