France’s injury woes have continued as Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante has been ruled out for four months with hamstring injury and will now miss the FIFA World Cup that kick starts next month. Kante is no the only player on the casualty list as 2018 World Cup winning star Paul Pogba is also struggling to make the T20 World Cup squad.
N'Golo Kante had an operation on his hamstring injury and will now be out for four months - meaning the France international will miss his country's title defence at the World Cup.
"The midfielder visited a specialist with the club’s medical department to explore the options for his rehabilitation approach and it was mutually agreed for N’Golo to have surgery to repair the damage," said a Chelsea statement.
Kante, 31, hasn't played for Chelsea since their 2-2 draw with Tottenham in August.
N'Golo Kante
Graham Potter, Chelsea’s head coach, had hoped to have Kanté in action by now but the former Leicester player had a setback in training last week.
Potter can still call upon Jorginho, Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Conor Gallagher, Denis Zakaria and Mateo Kovacic in midfield. However, Chelsea, who visit Brentford on Wednesday evening, have planning issues in midfield. Jorginho is also out of contract next summer and is yet to agree an extension despite holding talks with the club’s hierarchy.
Zakaria is yet to feature for Chelsea since joining on loan from Juventus last month. The Switzerland international will hold talks over his future this week and could cut short his loan in January.
Kanté’s absence is a major blow for Potter, who must cope without a trio of influential players. Reece James, who has been outstanding at right wing-back, is out for eight weeks after damaging knee ligaments and is a huge doubt to play for England at the World Cup finals starting next month. The France defender Wesley Fofana is unlikely to play before the Qatar tournament after sustaining a knee injury this month.
