The midfielder was named in Gareth Southgate’s 25-man squad on Thursday (Picture: Getty)
Chelsea boss Graham Potter says Mason Mount is injured and will not be able to link up with England in the international break despite being named in the squad just 24 hours ago.
Gareth Southgate faced a degree of criticism for a rather safe-looking squad announcement on Thursday, which featured few new faces and a number of players who are out of form.
Chief among them was Mount, who has only scored three times and assisted twice in 23 Premier League appearances this season and has missed the west Londoners’ last two matches through injury.
At his pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of facing Everton, Potter confirmed that Mount is still struggling with a pelvic injury and will not be involved this weekend – or for England.
Bizarrely, Mount was still named in the England squad even though Raheem Sterling was left out after Chelsea informed the Three Lions’ management that he was dealing with a hamstring issue.
Asked about the duo’s fitness – and potential involvement on Saturday – Potter said: ‘Raheem has a problem with his hamstring.
‘It’s not too serious but he’ll miss the game at the weekend and he’ll miss the international [matches]. Same as Mason.
‘Mason has been struggling a little bit with his pubic bone. He wasn’t 100 per cent the last game, he’s still not quite there. So he’ll miss the England camp as well. Thiago [Silva] still away, Azpi [Cesar Azpilicueta] still away.’
Mount will not be involved against Everton on Saturday (Picture: Getty)
In better news, N’Golo Kante could return to the matchday squad for the first time since Potter took charge of Chelsea but the ex-Brighton boss intends to keep treating the midfielder’s return with care and caution.
Asked if Kante could be involved against Everton, Potter said: ‘Chance of being in the squad. It’s the first time so it’s fantastic.’
He continued: ‘There have been managers before me that have spoken very highly of N’Golo because he’s a top, top player. He’s a huge miss to us.
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‘That’s not to say the other players haven’t give absolutely everything, because they have, but N’Golo Kante is N’Golo Kante, you know? He’s a top player.
‘So great for us that he’s back but we have to be mindful of the fact that he’s had a long injury and we need to make the next steps to get him up to speed properly in the Premier League, which is what we’ll do. But it’s great to have him with us.
‘When you’ve had a player with that injury and that length [of time on the sidelines] you have to take those steps, regardless of whatever else the situation is.
‘You have to take the steps that get him up to speed, that get him up to being the player that he is, in a responsible way and doing it as safely as we can which enables him to take the right steps. Once he’s at his usual level, he’s a huge player for us.’
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The midfielder was named in Gareth Southgate’s 25-man squad on Thursday.