Chelsea will not go on a lucrative tour this summer to ensure their squad avoid burn-out next season.

In the last three years the Blues have been to the United States and Asia but Standard Sport understands that with a shorter close season due to the World Cup they have decided to play a series of one-off games in Europe instead.

Trips to North America and South East Asia have been financially rewarding and given Chelsea a great opportunity to increase their global fanbase.

Last year Chelsea went to both continents, playing seven matches and covering more than 23,000 miles.

But with the majority of their squad involved in the World Cup in Brazil, which will also delay holidays and the date players report back for training, a lighter schedule is being planned.

They did the same thing after the World Cup in 2010, with games against Crystal Palace, Ajax, Frankfurt and Hamburg before they played Manchester United in the Community Shield.

An announcement on Chelsea’s pre-season is expected later this month but with the club leading the Premier League by seven points, there is a possibility they will be involved in the annual encounter at Wembley again.

Chelsea will hope that by staying in Europe they can gain an advantage over their rivals who are still going on tours this summer. Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool are all competing in the International Champions Cup in the United States, which Chelsea played in last summer.

Tottenham are also off to the States in July to play friendlies against Seattle Sounders and Chicago Fire. Arsenal have yet to announce their pre-season plans.

Meanwhile, Marco van Ginkel still faces missing out on the World Cup despite recovering from a knee ligament injury.

The Holland midfielder, who joined from Vitesse Arnhem for £9million last summer, recently returned to full training after being injured against Swindon in the League Cup in September.

Van Ginkel is desperate to resume his Chelsea career and to prove his fitness in order to earn a spot in Holland’s squad. He already has two caps and hoped the move to Stamford Bridge would enhance his chances of playing in Brazil.

However, with Chelsea involved in a tight title race and the nature of his knee problem having been so severe, it is unlikely he will be risked.

Assistant manager Steve Holland said: “The injury he had was a nasty one, an injury that 15-20 years ago finished your career. These days, with the advancements made medically, that’s not the case and you return almost as good as you were previously.

Chelsea's summer transfer targets 7 show all Chelsea's summer transfer targets 1/7 Radamel Falcao The prolific Colombian is possibly the world's top natural striker and fits the bill for the top pedigree front man required at Stamford Bridge. Mourino admitted his admiration for star last month when he told French TV: “I have a team, but no striker. Falcao does not have a team. A player like him can't play in front of 3,000 people. Monaco is a club to end your career with.” Chelsea may have to break their transfer record (£50m for Fernando Torres in 2011) to land Falcao. 2/7 Lazar Markovic The attacking midfielder can play on either flank or behind the main striker but is still developing as a player. Last summer Chelsea secured a first option on buying Markovic in the future. 3/7 Antoine Griezmann Real Sociedad's French winger Antoine Griezmann has been scouted by Chelsea in addition to other Premier League clubs including Arsenal. The 22 year-old wants to leave the Basque club this summer and has the qualities Mourinho looks for in a wide man. 4/7 Diego Costa Has been Mourinho's preferred transfer target for much of this season after exceeding expectations at title-chasing Atletico Madrid. The Spanish club want their star striker to sign a lucrative contract extension which would raise his buyout clause of £32m. 5/7 Giannelli Imbula The 21 year-old Marseille midfielder could replace the outgoing John Obi Mikel this summer. Imbula is a tough tackler and very athletic. 6/7 Luke Shaw The highly-coveted young England prospect will almost certainly find himself the subject of interest from several big clubs this summer after an outstanding season at Southampton. With Ashley Cole out of contract this summer, the Blues could look to bring in the £20m rated Shaw 7/7 Edinson Cavani The Uruguayan forward remains on Chelsea's shopping list. The Paris Saint Germain star is not entirely happy playing second fiddle to Zlatan Ibrahimovic but his agent has insisted he is going nowhere. 1/7 Radamel Falcao The prolific Colombian is possibly the world's top natural striker and fits the bill for the top pedigree front man required at Stamford Bridge. Mourino admitted his admiration for star last month when he told French TV: “I have a team, but no striker. Falcao does not have a team. A player like him can't play in front of 3,000 people. Monaco is a club to end your career with.” Chelsea may have to break their transfer record (£50m for Fernando Torres in 2011) to land Falcao. 2/7 Lazar Markovic The attacking midfielder can play on either flank or behind the main striker but is still developing as a player. Last summer Chelsea secured a first option on buying Markovic in the future. 3/7 Antoine Griezmann Real Sociedad's French winger Antoine Griezmann has been scouted by Chelsea in addition to other Premier League clubs including Arsenal. The 22 year-old wants to leave the Basque club this summer and has the qualities Mourinho looks for in a wide man. 4/7 Diego Costa Has been Mourinho's preferred transfer target for much of this season after exceeding expectations at title-chasing Atletico Madrid. The Spanish club want their star striker to sign a lucrative contract extension which would raise his buyout clause of £32m. 5/7 Giannelli Imbula The 21 year-old Marseille midfielder could replace the outgoing John Obi Mikel this summer. Imbula is a tough tackler and very athletic. 6/7 Luke Shaw The highly-coveted young England prospect will almost certainly find himself the subject of interest from several big clubs this summer after an outstanding season at Southampton. With Ashley Cole out of contract this summer, the Blues could look to bring in the £20m rated Shaw 7/7 Edinson Cavani The Uruguayan forward remains on Chelsea's shopping list. The Paris Saint Germain star is not entirely happy playing second fiddle to Zlatan Ibrahimovic but his agent has insisted he is going nowhere.

“He is well ahead of schedule, that’s the way players think and it is a World Cup year. From our point of view it would be nice to take the pressure off and say, ‘there is no rush, you’ve done fantastically well and are an important player for the future so let’s go step by step’.”