Chelsea have been handed a timely boost ahead of their Champions League final clash with Manchester City, with both N’Golo Kante and Edouard Mendy returning to full training on Wednesday.
Kante has been
key to Chelsea’s success in the competition and Thomas Tuchel will have been
sweating on the touchline as the midfielder was taken off with a minor
hamstring problem in the club’s recent Premier League victory over Leicester.
The France
World Cup winner missed Chelsea’s trip to Aston Villa as a consequence and
there had been fears growing that he could be absent for Saturday’s all-English
affair at Porto’s Estadio do Dragao.
However, it appears Kante is
winning his race to be fit for the final after he was seen training with the rest
of Tuchel’s first-team squad at Cobham on Wednesday, according to The Sun.
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The report claims goalkeeper
Mendy – who came off with a rib injury at Villa Park – joined Kante in full
training before the pair worked on their fitness together in a separate session
away from the main group.
The news will come as a huge
relief to Chelsea supporters, with Tuchel’s players scheduled to jet out to
Portugal on Thursday.
Mateo Kovacic returned to the
starting XI at Villa after a thigh issue kept him sidelined for ten matches and
the Croatian managed 66 minutes before being replaced by Kai Havertz.
Andreas Christensen also
travelled to the West Midlands after shaking off a hamstring injury but was an
unused substitute as the visitors suffered defeat but clung on to the final
Champions League qualification spot.
Chelsea head coach Tuchel said
he was positive over the severity of Mendy’s injury after the Senegal international
collided into the post during the first half.
‘The update is we still have
hope he joins training on Wednesday and he joins the group,’ he told reporters
at his post-match press conference.
‘He made huge improvement with
the management of pain. So we need a further update on Wednesday but we hope to
have him back.’
Pressed further on Mendy’s
condition, the German said: ‘Edou will play if he’s fit. If he’s not fit on
Wednesday we will try on Thursday and Friday.
‘At the same time we have trust
if he cannot make it. We have a strong guy in Kepa [Arrizabalaga] who can take
his place. So now the race is on.
‘The images don’t show the
injury is too serious so we are positive. But every hour counts now and every
day counts.
‘Hopefully, the team around
Edou and himself can do enough and it would be a good boost.’
Asked for an update on Kante’s
injury, Tuchel joked: ‘With N’Golo, nothing has changed. We will just put him
in training when the game starts on Saturday and not speak to doctors and
physios or changing tactics,’ Tuchel joked.
‘It looks good and I hope it
stays like that.’
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