Aston Villa may now become the first side to face N’Golo Kante since August after Graham Potter made a claim about the Chelsea No.7 today.
What’s the story?
Well, the £32m man has been out of action since August after suffering a hamstring injury, which required surgery.
As a result, Kante has only been able to make two appearances across all competitions this season, although he now looks set to make his return against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.
As quoted by Chelsea‘s official website, Potter said: “We have to manage his minutes and build those minutes up in the Premier League, because he’s been out for so long. But he’s been training well and he’s had some behind-closed-doors game time. He’s available in the squad and I’m pretty sure he’ll be on the pitch at some point tomorrow.”
Even if Kante can manage just 30 minutes, it would represent significant progress for the France international.
The 32-year-old is one of the most likeable figures in football, and even some Aston Villa fans will probably applaud him onto the pitch if he does make his first appearance under Potter on Saturday.
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Who Aston Villa are missing for Chelsea clash
Putting aside Potter’s Kante news for a moment, Unai Emery has also provided some injury updates of his own.
The Spaniard revealed in his press conference that Matty Cash will miss the trip to west London, while Philippe Coutinho is also absent.
Emery added that Boubacar Kamara could start against the Blues, while Diego Carlos could be fit enough to play some part, but not from the first whistle. Leander Dendoncker is available for selection once again.
The Birmingham Mail quote the 51-year-old as saying: “Cash is injured and he’ll be out for a couple of weeks or maybe more. Coutinho is still injured. He’s progressing but not yet to train with us. Kamara, this week, was training with us and, if tomorrow he’s ready, I think I can use him in the squad to use him in the match on Saturday. Dendoncker as well has trained with us for the last two weeks normally and is ready to play.
“Diego Carlos played last week with the under-21s and with us, 60 minutes, with Bristol Rovers. He’s ready to train normally every day. To play a match, he’s ready to play some minutes but not in the starting XI yet.”
In other news, ‘Arsenal go to Anfield’: Andy Cole delivers ‘brutally honest’ Premier League title verdict
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