Mount, Thiago Silva: Chelsea Stars Support Kante in First Game Back From Injury

• N'golo Kante has been missing in action for Chelsea since suffering a hamstring injury in August
• The France international underwent surgery that ruled him out of the 2022 World Cup
• He is gradually stepping up his recovery and played a match behind closed doors yesterday

N'golo Kante has been missing in action for Chelsea since suffering a hamstring injury during the 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge in August.

The club employed a conservative repair method for the injury but opted for surgery in November when he kept suffering setbacks. The surgery ruled him out of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The 2018 World Cup winner has returned to full team training for weeks and could only make the matchday squad in the 2-2 draw but was an unused substitute.

As revealed by Chelsea official website, the 31-year-old played 60 minutes in a behind-closed-doors friendly for the club's development team in a 3-0 victory over Charlton Athletic.

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Mount and Silva support Kante

The former Leicester City midfielder had in attendance two of his Chelsea teammates in the stands to support him on his first game back in seven months.

The duo of Thiago Silva and Mason Mount showed up at the game, with Mount wearing a Kante shirt, turning it in the opposite way to display the number 7.

The England international, who faces an uncertain future at the club, pulled out of the Three Lions squad due to injury, as reported by Mirror UK. At the same time, the Brazilian had been injured since the 2-0 loss to Tottenham.

Kante's contract expires in the summer, and he had been in a lengthy conversation with the club. Telegraph UK confirmed talks are near completion, and he would sign a three-year contract.

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Kante promise knee-slide celebration

Sports Brief reported that Kante promised his teammates a knee-slide celebration when he scores his next goal after his injury return.

Teammates Christian Pulisic, Ben Chilwell and Mykhailo Mudryk accosted the tireless midfielder in training and asked that he should do something different, particularly with his goal celebration.

Pulisic joked Kanté could score in a World Cup final and still don an unbothered goal celebration.