By the time Chelsea and Everton kick off on Saturday evening, 216 days – seven months/30 weeks – will have passed since N'Golo Kante picked up a hamstring injury in the Blues' 2-2 draw with Tottenham in August.
So much has changed since then. Chelsea have signed 11 new players, replaced Thomas Tuchel with Graham Potter and a major reshuffle of the club's board and backroom staff has taken place. Since the last time Kante kicked a ball in a Chelsea shirt, the club has completely changed.
In the seven months the France international has been sidelined, the Blues have definitely suffered without the energetic midfielder. Their problems haven't solely been down to his absence, but losing a player as integral to the squad for such a lengthy period of time would be detrimental to any team.
