Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante has been struggling with injuries all throughout the summer and it looks like his woes are set to continue.
The Frenchman missed Chelsea’s home game vs Sheffield United with an ankle injury which meant both Ross Barkley and Mateo Kovacic could start in midfield alongside Jorginho.
Initial reports had claimed that the injury to N’Golo Kante was not serious and he was supposed to be out for only a few days.
But speaking before Chelsea’s draw vs Sheffield, Frank Lampard said the injury is refusing to go away which is why Kante will not be part of the French squad during the upcoming international break.
The manager said: “N’Golo Kante is not fit. It’s a continuation of his ankle problem.
“He won’t be travelling with the French squad either. I had a conversation with Didier Deschamps and we both agreed it was the best thing for him, so let’s try and get him fit over the break.
“There is a phase and I remember it is as a player myself, when sometimes you get a couple of niggles and you just have to clear the decks and get them right. I am not worried at all about any long-term effect at this point.
“It is more can we show him a little bit of TLC in terms of he has a problem, he has pain in his ankle, it is not a huge injury, can we get that right?
“Then we can start afresh because he missed pre-season and this international break falls at a good time for him.
“I don’t expect any issues unless there is something I don’t know about coming up.”
France play two Euro qualifiers vs Albania and Andorra meaning N’Golo Kante will not be a big miss for the Les Blues.
But this break should give the midfielder enough time to recover and get back to full fitness since Chelsea have a series of big fixtures right after the international break.
First, they take on Wolves and then they open their Champions League campaign with a home game vs Valencia. And just four days after this match, Lampard welcomes Liverpool to the Bridge.
And without N’Golo Kante playing in midfield, winning all three of these games might be an uphill task for Chelsea.
