Chelsea man N’Golo Kante picked up a knock in the game against Liverpool and has been forced to withdraw from the France squad.
Kante has been dealing with an ankle injury since the start of the season. Despite him gritting through a couple appearances, he keeps reinjuring it. That’s exactly what happened late against Liverpool on Saturday. An unfortunate collision saw Sadio Mané fall on top of his left ankle, twisting it once again.
The 30-year-old was not able to run it off and had to be substituted. Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel confirmed the injury post match. He stated that Kante was unable to put pressure on the ankle to move and accelerate properly.
The only positive in the situation is the timing of the international break. Hopefully, this gives the midfielder enough time to fully recover.
Chelsea tending to Kante
However, France had called him up for their games during this break. The whole event at the Liverpool game was not enough to change their mind. So off went the Frenchman, as he usually does because he does not want to let anyone down.
Having made the trip and attempted to train with the national team, France now realized the obvious as well. They have sent the all-important midfielder back to Stamford Bridge.
Hopefully Kante can now focus on his recovery and avoid any other setbacks due to this bit of unnecessary round-trip travel in a pandemic.
Along with N’Golo Kante, Corentin Tolisso will miss France’s run of matches in September as well. Tolisso has picked up a calf injury. In their stead, Matteo Guendouzi and Adrien Rabiot have earned call-ups.
Nonetheless, both Guendouzi and Rabiot will be unavailable for Wednesday’s clash with Bosnia-Herzegovina. France manager Didier Deschamps is left to pick from Paul Pogba, Aurelien Tchouameni and Jordan Veretout. Apart from Pogba, the other two still await their first cap.
Kante wrestled with a hamstring problem last campaign. Soldiering on, he managed to register 24 starts in the Premier League season. Simultaneously, he played every minute for his country at Euro 2020.
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