Foxes felt mentally drained, admits Jonny Evans

Leicester's Jonny Evans admits the Foxes needed a break ahead of their return to action against Brighton.

The Foxes go to the Seagulls on Saturday after the international break following the death of owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others in a helicopter crash last month.

Manager Claude Puel said on Thursday it is time to move forward and focus on football following the tragedy and Evans conceded the squad had been mentally drained.

"You can't keep playing on that same high emotion every single week," he said.

"Obviously every game we go into, there's a huge determination to win, but in those two games (Cardiff and Burnley) there was a heightened emotion in most players and it's very, very hard to play like that.

"You have to keep your emotions at a certain level at the right times in games and it's important that we do that throughout the rest of the season.

"The international break probably did come at a good time. We had an away game and a home game and it wasn't until I'd gone away on international duty that I realised how emotionally drained and tired everyone would have felt.

"It was a tough couple of weeks, but I thought everyone dealt with it really well, the club as a whole and the players.

"Now we've come back from the international break, I think it's important for us to re-focus and continue playing well and try to get points."

Evans has overcome a knee injury after coming off against Burnley and is set to start with Harry Maguire again out with his own knee problem, while Jamie Vardy is a doubt with a groin issue.

The Foxes are two points ahead of the Seagulls in the Premier League and Evans is wary of six-goal Glenn Murray.

"They're a very good team, really well organised. The manager (Chris Hughton) has got them into a settled formation," he said.

"They're very good at set-pieces, attacking-wise, and Glenn Murray's obviously been on fire the last year or so, so it'll be a tough side to play against, especially away at their stadium."