When N'Golo Kante was taken off on 84 minutes in Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Tottenham on August 14, nobody could have envisaged that 179 days later he still wouldn't have kicked a football in acompetitive match.
The aftermath of the four-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge was dominated by Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte's now infamous bust-up at the full-time whistle. Many had forgotten Kante limped off with a hamstring problem, but former Chelsea boss Tuchel delivered a slightly worrying update when speaking to the media after the game.
"It seems another muscle injury, the hamstring," Tuchel explained. "He said he feels it is pretty strong, so no good news."
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Just over two months later, Chelsea released a statement where the club confirmed Kante had undergone surgery on his hamstring following specialist guidance. The 31-year-old was consequently ruled out of the World Cup and missed France's campaign where Les Bleus reached the final in Qatar, only to be beaten by Argentina.
The statement also confirmed Kante would remain on the sidelines for a further four months. In December, Chelsea head coach Graham Potter – who has been unable to field Kante since taking charge of the side in September – gave an update on the fitness of the two-time Premier League champion.
"He is a while," Potter explained. "He will be [back] at the end of February, or even the start of March."
That still looks to be the case, with Kante now doing individual work at Cobham since the end of last week, a source has told football.london. He is not yet training with his teammates, however, but that is understood to not be too far away from doing so.
football.london understands Chelsea have some hope of Kante returning to team training by the end of the week, or the start of the following week. However, rather understandably, the Blues are very mindful of not rushing the Frenchman – who has been missing for almost six months – back into competitive action.
If everything goes to plan in that regard, then Chelsea could target their trip to Tottenham on February 26 as the game for Kante to return to the squad. That would be ideal for the Blues, who then face a tricky March, with the Champions League Round of 16, second-leg against Borussia Dortmund at Stamford Bridge taking place on March 7.
If Kante does not make the trip to Spurs, then the Premier League showdown with Leeds United on March 4 may be one that is looked at. It will be key for Chelsea to have Kante fit and firing for the remainder of the season if they are to make a late top four push and of course, for their Champions League campaign as well.
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