Marcel Schmelzer Is Borussia Dortmund Player Most in Need of International Break

The current international break arguably comes at an inopportune time for Borussia Dortmund.

Head coach Thomas Tuchel might have said after Sunday's 3-1 come-from-behind win over Augsburg, that he's "really happy about it," because "it is important to take a moment to breathe," per the club's official website, but even he must be at least a little annoyed Dortmund's momentum is interrupted.

The Black and Yellows have been on a roll since the turn of the year, as the impressive numbers tweeted by Squawka.com show:

The international break has a lot of positives about it, too. Thanks to their advancing in the UEFA Europa League, the Ruhr side have played six straight weeks with midweek fixtures.

The match at Augsburg's WWK Arena was the first one where that stress was plain to see, as the first-half performance was arguably the most lacklustre Dortmund have given in 2016.

Having a few days off and almost two full weeks between games, the break in action gives the players and staff time to recharge for the final stretch of the season. Dortmund have everything to play for, so they'll need full batteries.

Fourteen players will be scattered to the four winds with their national teams, per the club's official website. That's not necessarily a negative for Tuchel, however: "National team players will also have the opportunity to regenerate mentally thanks to a change of scenery."

A change of scenery could be huge for a player such as Shinji Kagawa, who's struggling to find consistency and, with it, confidence at the moment. Travelling to Japan is less than ideal, but, seeing as the Samurai Blue play against Afghanistan and Syria, the midfielder should come back with a lift in morale.

As for the few players who do get to stay at home, the international break cuts both ways for Marcel Schmelzer.

The left-back's omission from Joachim Low's Germany team has been a hot topic among Dortmund supporters for a while, and Tuchel had a two-part answer when asked about it before the Augsburg match, per ESPN FC's Stefan Buczko: 

After missing the season preparation due to injury and considering his intense playing style, the break will do him a world of good. From Schmelzer's perspective, speaking strictly from a sporting angle, a nomination would be deserved at any given time based on his consistent performances throughout the season.

The 28-year-old has been Dortmund's most consistent defender this campaign, and he has played the fifth-most minutes of all players in the squad, per Transfermarkt.co.uk.

The club had brought in a true back-up left-back for the first time in years when Joo-Ho Park arrived late in the summer transfer window, but the South Korea international's performances have been anything but convincing, and the 29-year-old has played in only nine games across competitions.

Since Erik Durm, who only returned to the team from a lengthy injury absence in January, is much more comfortable on the right than on the left side of defence, as evidenced by his mediocre at best performance as left-back against Augsburg, Schmelzer is one of the few players Tuchel can't afford to lose.

Looking leaner than ever and spurred by a more advanced role on the pitch, Schmelzer is playing his best football for Dortmund this season.

He personifies the winning mentality the Black and Yellows have developed under Tuchel and is "without a doubt the best available left-back in Germany right now," as Buczko put it.

Dortmund's No. 29, who told Spox.com's Jochen Tittmar (link in German) in February that he hadn't heard from Low since being cut from the 2014 World Cup squad, will draw motivation from his non-consideration for the friendlies against England and Italy, while getting an important rest before his club's season goes into the decisive phase.

Schmelzer's loss could be Dortmund's gain.

Lars Pollmann is a Featured Columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for YellowWallPod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.