N’Golo Kanté out another 4-5 games, World Cup place in doubt — report

Earlier this week, Chelsea head coach Graham Potter revealed that N’Golo Kanté had suffered a setback in his attempt to return from his latest hamstring injury, and according to a report yesterday from L’Equipe, that “relapse” will keep the midfielder out for another 4-5 games at least. That would rule him out through the end of the month, and perhaps until after the World Cup, since we only have about two weeks in November before the club season grinds to a halt and we all turn our attentions to Qatar.

Fortunately for us but quite unfortunately for Kanté himself, he might be spending those six World Cup weeks continuing to work on his fitness rather than being with the France national team, as L’Equipe surmise that the 31-year-old’s spot on team is very much in doubt now. Even if he is able to return before the tournament, he will not have played much, if any, competitive football since August.

It’s equally tough to imagine either Chelsea or France getting hands on a trophy without Kanté, but we might have to face this scary new future bravely together and find new ways of winning...