Chelsea take on Newcastle United in the English Premier League this weekend and midfielder N’Golo Kante has been ruled out of the match.
The Frenchman has been suffering from constant injury troubles ever since the pre-season tour and this time he has suffered a groin injury on international duty.
N’Golo Kante pulled out of France’s squad for the Euro 2020 qualifier against Iceland last week and now it looks like he will not be risked for the clash vs NUFC.
While some reports claim Kante is fit enough to play around 45 minutes this weekend but given Chelsea take on Ajax in the Champions League next week, the World Cup winner will not be risked vs the Magpies.
This is certainly a huge blow for the Blues especially since Mateo Kovacic also picked up an injury during the international break.
While Mateo Kovacic is expected to feature vs NUFC but we don’t think he is fit enough to start which means Mason Mount will play in central midfield alongside Jorginho and Ross Barkley.
Apart from N’Golo Kante, Christensen and Emerson are also recovering from injuries and are expected to miss the Chelsea vs NUFC clash.
N’Golo Kanté folding his arms with some sunglasses on. 😎
That’s it. That’s the tweet. pic.twitter.com/ufCKGPWQa5
— Football Tweet (@Football__Tweet) October 15, 2019
With Christensen out of the picture and Antonio Rudiger also not ready to start, Zouma and Tomori are expected to start in central defence vs the Magpies.
Some reports though claim that Reece James could start in central defence since the youngster is fit enough to play and Lampard needs his regular centre-backs to remain fit before the Blues take on Ajax.
While the defence shouldn’t be a problem, the absence of N’Golo Kante and possibly Mateo Kovacic could be a bit of a headache for the Chelsea manager since Lampard is already working with a pretty small squad and any more injuries will seriously hamper their upcoming matches.
