Chelsea manager Graham Potter suggested N’Golo Kante‘s unquestionable “quality” is a big miss for the team but it will take time before the midfielder recovers.
The Blues have had some issues in midfield in the last few months, but the main one is Kante’s absence.
The 31-year-old had a fine start to the season before he sustained a hamstring injury in the match against Tottenham in August.
He had returned to training in early October before he suffered another setback which led to the club’s deciding that he needed surgery.
The operation went successfully in the same month, but it also meant that Chelsea had to wait even longer for his return.
There are questions over the France international’s future at Chelsea with his contract expiring at the end of the season, but Potter is still looking forward to having such a key player back in the team.
“It’s surgery, so [the recovery time] is a minimum period of four months,” the manager said in his press conference on Friday about Kante’s injury situation.
“My focus is just to help him get back fit as soon as possible.
“Everyone knows the quality that he has — that’s not a question.
“It’s more about getting him back fit, doing it the right way, and looking forward to seeing him play football.
“Because we haven’t seen him.”
Potter also mentioned that Kante is expected to be back at the end of February or the beginning of March.
Unfortunately, this means the likes of Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will continue to have a heavy workload, at least in the next couple of months.
Mason Mount and Conor Gallagher can be options as number eights too, although Potter clearly prefers to use these two in more advanced roles.
Keep up to date with all the latest Chelsea news and opinion by following The Chelsea Chronicle’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
