Frank Lampard has delivered a glowing verdict on Chelsea star N'Golo Kante ahead of the Blues' Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid. The Frenchman has been plagued by a hamstring injury for almost all of this season, only returning to the matchday squad in the middle of March.
Understandably, given his seven-month absence, Kante has been eased back into first-team action. On March 18, for the Premier League clash against Everton, the 32-year-old was named on the bench before delivering a positive 30-minute cameo against Aston Villa.
Three days on from his official playing return, Kante started against Liverpool before being rested against Wolves that weekend with it later being confirmed by Lampard it was the plan all along.
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Ahead of the clash, Lampard was asked about Kante with the interim boss singing his praises and recalling a notable moment in the past involving the duo.
"N’Golo is a special player," he said. "I understand what you mean in terms of consistency and the problems N’Golo has had with injuries.
"But in terms of coming back and playing at a really high level, I have witnessed him do it. He did it for me in the Super Cup against Liverpool for me a few years ago. He passed a fitness test, hadn’t trained in a long time and was the best player in the pitch for 120 minutes.
"I think he has the capacity to do it because he’s a special player. Hopefully, he can do that because he’s that high-level a player and when we miss him as a club we miss him because of how good he is. It’s a positive that he’s back."
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