Chelsea fans and Thomas Tuchel can rejoice just days into the new season after Ngolo Kante returned to pre-season training. Chelsea began the new campaign this weekend and although Kante had extra days off due to his international commitments with France, he was one of the first internationals to return, as per Football London.
Kante left the France squad early following a knee injury and missed their final fixture against Croatia on the 13th June, which would have set the alarm bells ringing back at Cobham. Kante suffered from knee problems the previous summer after Euro 2020, which then led to him missing matches for Chelsea at the start of the season and then returned in late December.
However the fact Kante has returned on schedule hints that he may well be fully-recovered from the knee issues. At full tilt Kante usually has a major impact on games but that wasn’t the case as often last season. It might also be a key part of the reason Chelsea struggled to hit the heights they did in Tuchel’s first six months as manager.
Image via Darren Walsh
