N’Golo Kante has been confirmed by Chelsea gaffer Thomas Tuchel as the sole absentee for the Blues ahead of their forthcoming top-flight outing at Stamford Bridge against West Brom on Saturday.
The France international had picked up an injury while on duty with Les Bleus and had made his way back to London for medical treatment which meant him being absent for the last two World Cup qualifiers played by the defending champions.
Reports from the club’s official website confirm Tuchel’s pre-game press conference remarks over Kante’s availability for the weekend clash in which the Frenchman would play no part despite taking part in some individual training drills ahead of the game.
Tuchel further added that Kante faces a tough race against time to prove his fitness for the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals first leg in which Chelsea are due to face FC Porto.
‘Everyone was training today and we had a good, high quality session,’ said Tuchel.
‘Apart from N’Golo Kante, he wasn’t with the squad and he did some individual work.’
‘Everybody else was out on the pitch and are all available for tomorrow, which is good news.’
‘With N’Golo, we will have to be patient. Will he miss the Porto game? Yes, probably. He is doing individual training and tomorrow’s game comes too soon for him and so he can’t be with the squad.
‘After tomorrow’s game, we have just three days to prepare [for Porto]. He has a muscle injury, as we communicated with the national team, so my realistic approach is to think further ahead about Porto, maybe the second game against Porto he could be available for.’
