Thomas Tuchel N’Golo has warned Kante that he can no longer be considered a key part of his plans unless he can overcome the fitness issues that plagued him last season.
The France international has been a crucial player among a succession of Chelsea managers after coming from Leicester in the summer of 2016.
Kante’s influence has waned over the past season, however, as he was hampered by a number of injuries that forced him to miss important games and limited him to 42 appearances in all competitions.
The 31-year-old’s hopes of making a quick start to the new season were hampered by his enforced absence from Chelsea’s US tour.
Both Kante and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were banned from traveling due to their Covid-19 vaccine status and Tuchel admits he has been forced to leave the couple behind, leaving him at a disadvantage.
He said: ‘N’Golo Kante knows what the pre-season is about and especially for him it gives us the opportunity to build him up very individually.
‘N’Golo Kante has coaches there in London looking after him and he’s integrated into the Under-23 and Under-19 training, so he has team training too.
“We need N’Golo Kante to have more minutes on the pitch. He is one of our key players and the key players have to be on the pitch otherwise they can’t be key players so this is how we are doing things at the moment.
“We don’t blame people and don’t put our finger on them.
A personal decision has to be made and both have made their personal decision.
“It doesn’t matter if I understand it, if I like it or, for professional life, a disadvantage at the moment. We would have loved to have them both here.
“Once we knew that, we had to provide the best solution, which was to train Cobham at a high physical level.
“They’ll be fit when we get back.”
LAKE : Frenkie de Jong’s agent encourages Chelsea offer after Manchester United’s agreement with Barcelona
LAKE : Thomas Tuchel downplays Chelsea’s chances of signing Robert Lewandowski
For more stories like this, check our sports page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news about
facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
