Former Chelsea star Frank Leboeuf is worried Blues star N'Golo Kante may be nearing the end of his career after struggling with injuries over the past two seasons.
France international Kante made an instant impact for the Blues in the 2016-17 season, leading them to Premier League glory and being named player of the season for the competition as a whole. He has continued to play a major part when fit, but the last couple of seasons have presented challenges for the 31-year-old.
The former Leicester City star played just 26 times in the league last season, and a series of setbacks this term mean he has yet to feature under new manager Graham Potter. After seeing injury keep his compatriot out of France's World Cup squad, Leboeuf has suggested it could be time for something drastic.
"I haven’t spoken to him about his fitness and how he feels but it could be that he’s nearing the end of it [his career]," Leboeuf told Safe Betting Sites. "Because the thing is we have to understand that we are talking about a human being. Suddenly your body says okay, enough, leave me alone.
"The end of your career is also a part of your career, and you have to choose the right time to give up. Even if you don’t want to and even if your football is great and you want to carry on.
“You have to give envy to people and not pity. So you have to make a decision in your own mind [regarding retirement]. You have to talk to your family and say maybe okay, it’s over. So I don’t know his shape but if he feels that he can serve Chelsea well then he should stay.”
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After missing a handful of games for club and country in the first half of 2022, Kante was fit to start against Everton and Tottenham in Chelsea's first two games of the new Premier League season. He limped off towards the end of the Spurs game, though, and has yet to return from the hamstring trouble which forced him out of that fixture.
The midfielder was working his way back to full fitness ahead of the World Cup, but reportedly suffered an additional blow in mid-October which ensured he would not play a part for France. With fellow midfielder Paul Pogba also sidelined through injury, Les Bleus manager Didier Deschamps handed minutes to Adrien Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni for the run to the World Cup final.
Former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was unable to call upon Kante for his final few games in charge, and was sacked in September after a Champions League loss against Dinamo Zagreb. His successor Potter had hoped to call upon Kante before the mid-season break, only for an issue to arise in training, and Kante's involvement in Chelsea's warm-weather training camp in December didn't extend to minutes on the pitch.
