Kante injury 'short-term', suggests Chelsea boss Lampard

N'Golo Kante missed Chelsea's 3-0 win over Burnley but Frank Lampard does not expect a hamstring complaint to sideline him for too long.

Published : Jan 12, 2020 01:05 IST

Chelsea manager expects N'Golo Kante's injury to be a short-term one.
Chelsea manager expects N'Golo Kante's injury to be a short-term one.
lightbox-info

Chelsea manager expects N'Golo Kante's injury to be a short-term one.

Frank Lampard is hopeful N'Golo Kante will make a swift return from the hamstring problem that ruled him out of Chelsea's 3-0 win over Burnley on Saturday.

Kante's fellow midfielder Jorginho opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi got in on the act.

Chelsea remains in the final Champions League qualification place, five points ahead of fifth-placed Manchester United, and Lampard knows how important it will be to have his France international back fit and firing.

"I'm hoping short-term. He actually got through training but had an awareness of it," the Blues boss told BBC Match of the Day after Kante's absence unhelpfully coincided with speculation linking him to Real Madrid.

Read: Aubameyang scores but also sees red card

"It didn't break down as such. It's something we'll have to look at in the week ahead.

"We know how important he is for us and he's played so many games over the years regularly.

"This year, not so much – which is unfortunate for everybody here. So we'll look after him and hopefully it's not too long."

Kante has missed eight of Chelsea's 22 Premier League matches so far this term, having been hampered by a series of minor issues.

Christian Pulisic was another injury victim in training at Cobham this week, suffering tendon damage.

The United States attacker being sidelined created the opportunity for Hudson-Odoi to start and score his first Premier League goal.

"Callum did very well. The urgency of his game, being on the edge, making runs and getting at people – so positive," Lampard added.

"Those are the things that he needs to do, keep working on that. We know the talent he's got."

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment