N’Golo Kante: Huge Blow to France As Chelsea Midfielder Is Ruled Out of FIFA World Cup

N’Golo Kante: Huge Blow to France As Chelsea Midfielder Is Ruled Out of FIFA World Cup

Martin Moses
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:14 PM
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  • N'Golo Kante is now certain to miss the World Cup after picking up a hamstring problem during a recovery training session
  • Kante is expected to be out for at least three months and thus cannot make it back in time for France's squad to Qatar
  • This comes at a time when France are also not assured of Paul Pogba's fitness as they seek to defend their World title

N'Golo Kante is set to miss the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar after suffering an injury setback in training.

Kante picked up a hamstring injury against Tottenham Hotspur in August. He was set to resume training after six weeks, only to suffer the setback.

N’Golo Kante, France, Chelsea, Didier Deschamps, World Cup, hamstring issue, Paul Pogba
N’Golo Kante with France national team head coach Didier Deschamps after their elimination from Euro 2020 by Switzerland in 2021. Photo by Daniel Mihailescu.
Source: Getty Images

The Athletic now reports that the new injury is set to sideline him for more than three months and subsequently out of the World Cup. Chelsea head coach Graham Potter described the situation as a setback.

He’s due to see a consultant at the weekend. It’s a setback and it’s not good news, but I can’t give you anything more at this stage.

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Paul Pogba is also yet to recover from his injury

This piece of news will definitely come as a blow to Les Bleus' head coach Didier Deschamps. Deschamps is already sweating on the fitness of Paul Pogba, who picked up a muscle injury early into his second Juventus stint.

This technically means that he will be without the midfield pairing that led him to success in Russia four years ago. This will open up opportunities for young midfielders like Real Madrid's midfielders Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga.

Reece James could miss the World Cup due to a knee injury

At the same time, Sports Brief also reported that Chelsea right-back Reece James could miss the World Cup in Qatar after tests revealed the injury he sustained against AC Milan is worse than imagined.

Reports indicated that the Englishman may have damaged ligaments and will be sidelined for up to two months, forcing him to miss the world's biggest football tournament.

James has been one of Chelsea's best players this season. He produced exceptional performances for the Blues in their two games against AC Milan, shutting down star winger Rafael Leao.

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Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)
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