N'Golo Kante missed his 35th game of the season for Chelsea through injury. This time it was his groin. Already since August, he's spent time out with a hamstring strain and knee troubles.
His replacement limped off injured after 35 minutes against Nottingham Forest. Mateo Kovacic, who football.london understands the club are happy to let go this summer, but failed to make a difference before his time was called. Given there are three games left to play it could be that the Croatian has played his last match for the Blues.
Coming off the bench in his place was Ruben Loftus-Cheek. It was the 27-year-old's second appearance under Frank Lampard having not played in the previous six games ahead of last week. He was only a substitute against Bournemouth.
