Graham Potter expects N’Golo Kante to be involved in Chelsea’s match tomorrow against Aston Villa.
N’Golo Kante, who’s not played a competitive game since mid-August, is in line to make his return this weekend.
The 32-year-old Blues midfielder has missed the majority of the season so far with a hamstring problem, but he was an unused substitute in the draw against Everton before the international break.
Chelsea are currently preparing for tomorrow evening’s Premier League fixture at home to Villa.
Potter confirmed in Friday’s press conference that Kante should get some minutes against Villa. He didn’t give any details on whether that could be from the start or off the bench, though.
We expect it’ll take a while for the Frenchman to get up to full speed, but he’s got a few games still to rebuild himself before the Champions League quarter-finals against Real Madrid.
When asked if Kante is ready to start against Villa, Potter said (Football London): “We have to manage that as the next stage for us because he’s been out for so long. The minutes and building those minutes in the Premier League. He’s been training well and he’s had some behind closed doors time and he’s available in the squad and I’m pretty sure he will be on the pitch at some point tomorrow.”
Blues fans have been debating for a while the future of Kante, whose current deal at Stamford Bridge is due to expire at the end of the season.
However, journalist Florian Plettenberg recently claimed on Twitter that Kante is on the verge of signing a new Chelsea contract.
It’s fantastic news all round right now when it comes to the all-action midfielder, who celebrated his 32nd birthday earlier this week.
If he click quickly alongside Enzo Fernandez, Chelsea could have an exceptional midfield at their disposal. However, everyone may need to reign in expectations after such a long time out of action.
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