Kante will make late call on his fitness

Antonio Conte, the Chelsea manager, will make a late check on N’golo Kante before deciding whether to start the midfielder against Roma tonight.

Chelsea can qualify for the Champions League knockout stages by beating Roma at Stadio Olimpico and Kante is close to making a comeback.

Kante returned to training last Friday and travelled to Rome, but is still believed to be unsure whether the hamstring he injured while on international duty with France is fully recovered.

Conte made it clear he would like Kante to start against Roma, but is set to leave the final decision to the player. “He has trained with us,” said Conte. “He trained also before the game against Bournemouth. It’s important, in this moment, to speak with the player and then see his sensation.

“I was a player and you know very well that, after an injury, above all a muscular problem – a bad injury – it’s very important to listen to the player and what are his sensations and then make the best decision for him, for the team. For sure, we’ll try to make the best decision.”

Whoever lines up in midfield will have to try to get the better of Roma’s Radja Nainggolan, a player Chelsea attempted to sign last summer. Nainggolan said: “Interest from Conte and Chelsea? I made my decision. I never thought about how playing in another jersey would have felt.”

On the challenge Roma face, having drawn 3-3 at Stamford Bridge, Nainggolan added: “We had a great game in London, but we keep talking about it. We’ll go for the win and there will be a full house.”