N’Golo Kanté withdraws from France squad due to knee injury

N’Golo Kanté had not been part of the matchday squad for the last two Nations League matches for France, after featuring against Denmark last weekend, and while that was initially reported as just a bit of squad rotation by manager Didier Deschamps, it turns out that there may have been a more serious reason behind it.

As confirmed by the French Football Federation today, Kanté has withdrawn from the squad due to a knee injury. The exact nature of the injury is not specified, though hopefully the circumstances mean that it’s not too serious. Preseason starts in a month!

Sadly, injuries have become a common feature of Kanté’s career in the last few years, including a month out earlier this season with another knee problem. I suppose every Superman has his kryptonite.

The 31-year-old has one year left on his contract, and he’s coming off of perhaps his worst season as a Chelsea player. We have some big decisions to make, including plans for a post-Kanté future in midfield.