Chelsea fear N’Golo Kante will miss their remaining six matches in October with a hamstring injury picked up on international duty with France, reports The Daily Telegraph.
Kante limped off during the first half of France’s win over Bulgaria on Saturday and has now returned to Cobham where he will be assessed further by Chelsea’s medical team.
The 26-year-old is certainly ruled out of Chelsea’s trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday and isn’t expected to recover in time for their Champions League encounter with Roma next week.
Antonio Conte’s side are growing increasingly worried that their key midfielder will also miss the return match against Roma on October 31, as well as league clashes with Watford, Everton and Bournemouth in that time.
Chelsea are already missing Alvaro Morata, who suffered his own hamstring injury before the international break, but can at least welcome back David Luiz, who has missed their last three matches through suspension, against Palace.
Kante became the first player in Premier League history to win successive titles with different clubs when Conte’s men lifted the trophy in May and has firmly established himself as one of the best midfielders in England.
In the last three Premier League campaigns, Kante has won the most tackles and interceptions combined (583).
