Chelsea may return from the international break without N’Golo Kante in the lineup. The Blues have sufficient depth and versatility in midfield to weather a short span without their French engine.
N’golo Kante suffered a hamstring injury playing for France in Bulgaria Saturday night. The Chelsea midfielder had to be replaced in the 33rd minute of the game. Kante is undergoing medical assessments, and Chelsea await word if the Frenchman will be fit to play at the weekend.
Should Kante be out, there is the possibility of a debut for his old Leicester City colleague Danny Drinkwater. Since arriving at the club in a flurry of deadline day activity, Drinkwater has yet to make to his Chelsea debut. Chelsea travel to out-of-form Crystal Palace on Saturday, and it may be a good place for the midfielder to start.
Drinkwater would be able to comfortably slot into Kante’s role, having played alongside him on countless occasions for the Foxes. Drinkwater would have been more comfortable playing alongside Kante rather than debuting with the unfamiliar Tiemoue Bakayoko. But Antonio Conte has had plenty of time to drill his ideas into the Englishman’s head.
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Should Kante fail to make the cut for the weekend’s game and Drinkwater is not available to start, Antonio Conte still has options. Cesc Fabregas alongside Bakayoko would not be the end of the world. David Luiz is also back in contention for a place in the starting XI following his three match ban. He could play at central-midfield, with Andreas Christensen solidifying his place in the back-line.
Whilst the media will pile in on Kante’s injury like Chelsea’s season is once again on the brink of disaster, the more rational will consider it just a blip. Much as those in press would like Chelsea’s world to come tumbling down, an injury to N’golo Kante is hardly going to unsettle a Chelsea squad who have already conquered so many speculative nightmares this season.
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Saturday was not a great evening for N’Golo Kante for another reason, as well. The Bulgarian football authorities mugged him off by giving him the tallest mascot in the national anthem line-up. Kante’s head was just visible behind the youngster as the anthems played. Nobody knows if Kante was singing, as his mouth was not visible.