N’Golo Kante: Potter Confirms France Midfielder Could Return for Chelsea Against Everton

N’Golo Kante: Potter Confirms France Midfielder Could Return for Chelsea Against Everton

Elijah Odetokun
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:28 PM
  • Chelsea will host relegation-threatened Everton at Stamford Bridge in Saturday's late kick-off
  • Graham Potter's side would be boosted by the possible return of star midfielder N'golo Kante
  • The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner has been sidelined since October after surgery on his injured hamstring

Chelsea are beginning to enjoy some daylight after a poor run of results. They have won three games on the bounce against Leeds United and Leicester City in the league and Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League.

This afternoon they were drawn against champions Real Madrid in the quarter-final of the Champions League in what would be a season-defining match, as the club's only hope of silverware this season lies in it.

They hope to continue their winning run this Saturday when they host relegation-threatened Everton at Stamford Bridge in the late kick-off.

N'golo Kante, Chelsea, Everton, Tottenham.
N’Golo Kante during his last game for Chelsea this season, the 2-2 draw against Tottenham in August. Photo by Visionhaus.
Source: Getty Images

Kante could return against Everton

Star midfielder N'golo Kante was initially ruled out for four months in October after undergoing surgery to repair a persistently injured hamstring, as reported by Sports Mole.

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The French midfielder is now in contention for the matchday squad against Everton, as confirmed by Graham Potter during his pre-match conference, as quoted by Evening Standard.

“[He has a] chance of being in the squad. It’s the first time, so it’s fantastic, great. He is a huge miss to us. He has been a huge miss to us,” he said.
“He is a top player. So it’s great for us that he’s back. We need to be mindful of the fact that he’s had a long injury. We need to make the next steps to get him up to speed properly in the Premier League, which is what we will do, but it’s great to have him with us.”

The Blues would be without long-term absentees Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta, while Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount are also unfit to feature.

Kante held at gunpoint

Sports Brief earlier reported that Kante was held at gunpoint in Paris in 2017 and was threatened to leave his agent, Abdelkarim Douis, or he would get killed.

The former Leicester City denied the incident despite an audio recording of the player's advisors and family confronting him to drop Douis.

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Elijah Odetokun
Elijah Odetokun is Reuters-trained journalist with three years of experience having previously worked at Daily Times Nigeria, OmaSports and El Futbolero.
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