N’Golo Kante has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss Chelsea’s games against Juventus and Southampton before the international break.
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Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel revealed that Kante, 30, has tested positive for COVID-19 and will therefore miss their huge UEFA Champions League clash away at Juventus in midweek.
Kante will also miss the Premier League game at home against Southampton on Saturday (watch live, 10am ET on USA Network) as the Blues will not have their star midfielder available until after the upcoming international break.
It remains to be seen if Kante will play for France in their upcoming Nations League semifinal v. Belgium in October.
What did Tuchel say?
Asked for the latest Chelsea team news ahead of their trip to Turin, here’s what Tuchel said about N’Golo Kante.
“N’Golo unfortunately tested positive and needs to quarantine and follow the government protocols,” Tuchel said. “He was not in training today and of course is not with the group.”
The Chelsea boss was then asked if he knew how many of his players have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and said he didn’t know the answer to that question.
He added that his main concern is the health and wellbeing of Kante, and all of his players.
Injuries mounting up for Chelsea
With Kante out, there is now a growing injury list for Tuchel to cope with.
After losing to Manchester City at the weekend (a game in which they were dominated from start to finish) this is perhaps the toughest spell that Tuchel has gone through as Chelsea boss.
The German coach also revealed that Reece James, Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic are all out with injuries and will miss the trip to Juventus.
Pulisic has been out since mid-August for Chelsea as he first tested positive for COVID-19 and then suffered an ankle injury while on USMNT duty in early September.
Mount was injured in the League Cup win against Aston Villa, while James came off in the first half against Manchester City as he looked to have injured his ankle.
All of this is adding up to a bit of a mini-injury crisis for Tuchel but luckily he has a very large, and talented, squad. Chelsea should be able to overcome this but Pulisic, James, Kante and Mount are all key men for the Blues.
