Blues hope Kante’s early return from tour will boost bid to start season
CHELSEA hope sending N’Golo Kante home from their tour of Japan for treatment on a knee injury will give the midfielder a better chance of being fit for the new season.
Kante has returned to London following a recurrence of a knee problem he suffered at the end of last season and, with three weeks until their Premier League opener against Manchester United, Chelsea will be closely monitoring the fitness of their World Cup-winner.
The setback is a blow for new Blues manager Frank Lampard, but Chelsea hope dedicated treatment with specialists at their Cobham base will speed up Kante’s recovery and boost his chances of recovering in time for the trip to Old Trafford on August 12.
Kante flew out with Chelsea to Japan and Lampard said last week he was confident t h e 2 8 -ye a r- o l d F ra n c e international would be fit for the start of the season.
Kante had been training with the Chelsea squad, but after a session last week he reported discomfort in the same knee he injured ahead of the Europa League Final in May. He was declared fit as Chelsea beat Arsenal 4-1 in Baku, but then withdrew from international duty with France and is yet to feature for Chelsea in pre-season.
Lampard has been working on a 4-2-3-1 formation which will restore Kante to the heart of the team after he was played out of position by former manager Maurizio Sarri last season.
Chelsea face Barcelona in Saitama tomorrow in the final game of their pre-season tour, with Tammy Abraham pushing to start after recovering from illness. The 21-year-old helped fire Aston Villa back to the Premier League last season and hopes to play an important role under Lampard.
“I have been here since the age of six and there has been no better opportunity to graft and work hard for a starting spot and a place in the team for a massive club such as Chelsea,” Abraham told Sky Sports News.
“With the new manager in charge, all things look possible, so it gives the young lads and a lot of the players the chance to believe. You can already see in pre-season and even in training, he comes to speak to u s a n d g ive u s instructions on what to do, what to improve on, what he likes.
“It is always good to have a manager who speaks to players, not just the senior players but the younger players as well. It is a massive opportunity for us. I just need to work hard for the team, give 100 per cent in training and hopefully get my opportunity.”
Meanwhile, Brazil forward Willian is expected to wear the No10 shirt vacated by Eden Hazard, following the Belgian’s £130million move to Real Madrid this summer.