N’Golo Kante returns to Chelsea’s squad today (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
Chelsea boss Graham Potter admits the club must be ‘careful’ to slowly reintegrate N’Golo Kante back into the fold following the midfielder’s six month injury lay-off.
The Frenchman has been out of action since last August and his presence has been sorely missed by the Blues, who languish in tenth position in the Premier League.
The Blues have spent £600m across the last two transfer windows, including the likes of Enzo Fernandez.
But they’ve missed Kante’s dynamism and work-rate in central areas, with Potter keen to pair the Frenchman with Fernandez.
Kante returned to first-team training earlier this month and he has been included in Chelsea’s matchday squad for tonight’s fixture against Everton.
But, while Potter is ‘delighted’ that Kante has returned, he says the club must be ‘careful’ with the Frenchman given his long history of injuries.
Kante is out of contract at the end of the season (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
‘N’Golo is back for the weekend. He is in the squad, which is fantastic news for everybody,’ said Potter.
‘We have missed him a lot with his injury, it is great that he is back.
‘We must be careful with him as he has been out for a while but nevertheless delighted he is back in the squad,’ he added.
‘We are looking forward to seeing him back on the pitch.’
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Kante is out of contract at the end of the season and talks are ongoing to resolve his future.
The Frenchman is willing to take a pay decrease from his £300,000-a-week deal but he rejected the club’s last offer, which was believed to be a one-year deal with the option of another 12 months.
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It’s a delicate situation.