Kante’s absence will be a massive blow to the Blues ahead of their clash with Juventus in the Champions League.
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In a major blow to Chelsea, their midfielder N’Golo Kante is out of the crucial Champions League clash against Juventus on Wednesday after testing positive for coronavirus. While confirming the news, manager Thomas Tuchel also informed that Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount and Reece James will also miss the clash against the Italian giants. Notably, James had hurt his ankle against Manchester City at the weekend. However, their biggest concern would be about the absence of the French World Cup-winner from the middle of the park. Tuchel informed that Kante did not train on Tuesday ahead of the Group H match in Italy.
“Christian, Mason and Reece are out due to injury and N’Golo unfortunately tested positive and needs to quarantine and follow the government protocols,” Tuchel told reporters. “He was not in training today and is of course not with the group.” The 30-year-old French midfielder will isolate for 10 days. Hence, he will also miss Saturday’s Premier League match against Southampton.
Tuchel then spoke about the injury James sustained during the weekend defeat to Manchester City. “It’s still very painful. It will come down to pain management in the end and how much he can accept. Right now we are looking at a minimum of one more week.”
Chelsea’s Champions League opponents Juventus have had a difficult start to the Serie A this season. Irrespective of their league results, Tuchel is still expecting a tough assignment against them in the Champions League. “They are so experienced and such a big club with so much Champions League experience,” he said.
“They will enjoy the different competition. They have had a bit of a rough start according to their results in Serie A, but they were convincing in the Champions League. You never know with players that are missing. The guys who come in want to show they are reliable.
“We play Juventus at Juventus. It’s a no-brainer that demands respect to the quality and tradition of the club. We need to refocus and regroup and face a tough challenge with positive energy and determination to bounce back from our defeat.”
With Chelsea being the current holders of the Champions League, Thomas Tuchel spoke about how his team can continue to maintain that level in the competition. “It’s hard to be seen as an underdog when you just won the title,” said Tuchel.
“We were not the favourites last season but we got better with every match, and grew in confidence. We were seen as real contenders very late in the competition and that can sometimes help.
“Now it is easy to make us the favourites. We have the experience and that brings a higher value to play against us. It is a higher motivation to play against us, and we have to accept this. There is no secret.
“We like the role of being an outsider or a challenger to the title, which we still are. I don’t think we are the favourites, but we showed everybody what performances we are capable of.
“It’s very important we make ourselves free from these expectations, and these expectations do not become our expectations. We need to stay realistic. We demand high standards and the better we do this, the better for our performance.”
