N'Golo Kante could be set for spell out of Chelsea team, admits Frank Lampard

James Olley25 October 2019

Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard has admitted he could be forced into giving N’Golo Kante a prolonged rest in a bid to cure his ongoing injury problems.

The 28-year-old’s recovery from a groin strain has been slower than hoped and he will now miss Saturday's Premier League trip to Burnley.

Lampard revealed there is no timescale for his return as he continues to train away from the first team group in an effort to resolve various issues which have blighted his season.

Kante has started just three League matches this season after suffering with knee, ankle and hamstring problems.

There has been some speculation that Kante’s injury concerns date back to a surprise appearance in May’s Europa League Final against Arsenal, when he played the full 90 minutes despite limping out of the final training session having already been a doubt with a tight hamstring.

After facing Burnley, Chelsea host Manchester United in the Carabao Cup before traveling to Watford and when asked how long Kante could be sidelined for, Lampard said: “I just want him fit. He has played a lot of football for four years. He had a big injury off the back of last season.

“So, I think that maybe he is suffering from that big injury and a little fall out from that. I think now it is time to take a small step back just to get his fitness up and be confident that we won’t have a domino effect with small injuries. So, there’s no actual time frame.”

Antonio Rudiger (groin) and Andreas Christensen (hamstring) are also unavailable and although Chelsea have coped well with injuries this season, any further setbacks would place a greater emphasis on the success of their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over their FIFA transfer ban – issued after an investigation into their recruitment of foreign players aged under 18.

Chelsea squad 2019-20 | Injuries, contracts and squad numbers

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As things stand, they will be unable to sign any players in January and when asked to provide an update on the situation, Lampard said: “I don’t know, is the answer. I don’t know if we can. It is not in my hands so I wouldn’t want to speculate if we can or can’t [bring any new players in].

“At the minute, we can’t. I am just concentrating on what is ahead of us with the squad we have now. A club like Chelsea, we will always be looking at ‘can we improve the squad?’ If there is the potential to bring players in. At the moment, I don’t know the answer.”

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