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"I don't know what happens, but when he comes back he is a
different person, believe me," Ranieri told British media. "He
needs to recover. He is not a machine where you put in the money
and he starts to run."
Okazaki featured in Japan's 2018 World Cup qualifying win over
Iraq on Oct. 6 but did not play against Australia five days
later.
The 30-year-old sat out Leicester's defeat to Chelsea on his
return to England then came on as a late substitute in the
Champions League before starting in their last two Premier
League games against Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur.
"There are players like Wes Morgan who go around the world but
on the pitch he is the same," added Ranieri. "Shinji loses his
energy. After the last international break it wasn't the true
Shinji."
Okazaki played a key part in Leicester's title-winning season,
scoring five goals in 36 league appearances.
Leicester are 11th in the league this season and have lost four
of their 10 games -- more than they lost in the whole of last
season.
They travel to Denmark to face FC Copenhagen in the Champions
League on Wednesday before hosting West Bromwich Albion on
Sunday. (Reporting by Ian Rodricks in Bengaluru' Editing by
Peter Rutherford; peter.rutherford@thomsonreuters.com; +822 3704
5698 Reuters; Messaging:
peter.rutherford.reuters.com@reuters.net)
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