Lampard blasts France’s treatment of injured Kante
CHELSEA manager Frank Lampard has criticised France for their handling of injured midfielder N’Golo Kante, describing the situation as “not a laughing matter”.
Kante, who will be sidelined for today’s Premier League clash with Newcastle, joined Didier Deschamps’ national squad for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Iceland and Turkey.
The 28-year-old withdrew in the warm-up for the game in Reykjavik last Friday because of a groin issue and sat on the bench in Paris three days later despite failing a fitness test.
Lampard was unhappy with a lack of communication from France and feels the player should have been allowed an early return for treatment.
“N’Golo’s not fit, he had a small groin issue in the warmup to the first international game for France,” said Lampard. “We didn’t get him back until after the second game and he’s not fit.
“After the first game, he then had a fitness test the day before the second game. It was clear that he couldn’t play. He sat on the bench on the evening of the game. That’s not communication, it’s not such a laughing matter.
“It’s more for Kante himself because he’s not an inexperienced player, he’s been around the block, he’s won a World Cup, he’s been a fantastic player. I think that probably could have been handled better for sure.”
Kante previously missed qualifiers against Andorra and Albania in September due to an ankle problem, a decision his club and national managers spoke about and agreed on.
France coach Deschamps used the build-up to the latest matches to have a light-hearted dig at Chelsea and Lampard regarding Olivier Giroud’s lack of action at Stamford Bridge.
While Lampard was happy to brush off those comments, he feels the Kante situation is far more serious.
“Didier Deschamps mentioned in jest a little bit about Olivier Giroud, and that was quite light-hearted and I get it, we all have our selection problems,” said Lampard.
“But the Kante one was not a laughing matter.”