- Kante injured against Spurs in August
- Could be out until March
- Loftus-Cheek, Fofana, Chilwell, Kovacic, Ziyech also absent
WHAT HAPPENED? The Frenchman sustained a hamstring injury against Tottenham back in August, which Potter confirmed could leave him out of action until the beginning of March. Kante joins Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Wesley Fofana and Ben Chilwell on the injury list, while Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech are unavailable due to their World Cup exploits with Croatia and Morocco, respectively.
WHAT THEY SAID: "We're still waiting on Hakim [Ziyech] and Mateo [Kovacic]," Potter told reporters. "They went to third and fourth place [in the World Cup], played the game as well. It's a big demand for them, they won't be available for the game as a consequence."
He added: "Reece [James] is back in. He's been training with us and completed 65 minutes in the week. Still without Ruben [Loftus Cheek], still without Ben Chilwell, obviously [N'Golo] Kante, [Edouard] Mendy has had a couple of days training with us. He's a while. He'll be end of February, or the start of March."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Kante's absence has been a familiar one this campaign, as the 31-year-old has only featured twice for Chelsea all season, with fellow countryman and former Blue Frank Leboeuf arguing this could be the beginning of the end of the midfielder's career. Potter, meanwhile, will be hoping the Blues can back from a run of five league games without a win before the international break, and the return of Reece James will be welcome news in an otherwise injury-hit squad.
IN THREE PHOTOS:
Next Match
Getty Images
Getty Images
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA? After taking on Bournemouth on Tuesday evening on their Premier League return, Potter's side travel to Nottingham Forest on New Year's Day.