The 12 Chelsea games N’Golo Kante could miss amid fresh injury update
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N’Golo Kante’s injury nightmare continues after months on the sidelines.
The Frenchman has been key for Chelsea over recent years, but injuries have gotten the best of him last season and this. The 31-year-old has now missed 31 games with his current hamstring injury, and that follows on from the 16 games he missed last season through different setbacks.
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Hide AdKante hasn’t played for Chelsea since the second game of the season, against Tottenham in August, and the latest update from Graham Potter suggests he may remain out until March having undergone surgery in October. Potter said in his pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea’s clash with Bournemouth: “He’s a while. He’ll be end of February, or the start of March.”
With that in mind, which games is Kante likely to miss as his battle to return to fitness continues? In terms of the Premier League, the experienced midfielder will miss games against Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, Fulham (two games), Crystal Palace, Liverpool, West Ham, Southampton, Tottenham and potentially Leeds United.
He will also miss the FA Cup clash with Manchester City, and potentially further rounds, as well as, at the least, the first leg of the Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund.
Here is the full list of fixtures between now and the start of March. All fixtures are Premier League unless otherwise stated.
Bournemouth (H)- December 27
Nottingham Forest (A) - January 1
Man City (H) - January 5
Man City (A - FA Cup) - January 8
Fulham (A) - January 12
Crystal Palace (H) - January 15
Liverpool (A) - January 21
Fulham (H) - February 3
West Ham (A) - February 11
Borussia Dortmund (A - Champions League) - February 15
Southampton (H) - February 18
Tottenham (A) - February 26
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Hide AdPotter will likely have to lean on combinations of Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek during Kante’s absence, while Trevor Challobah and Deniz Zakaria could well have a part to play. Chelsea may also opt to sign a defensive midfielder during the winter window, particularly if they don’t intend on renewing Kante’s contract beyond this summer.