Tag: N’Golo Kante

France gets extraordinarily mixed news, with Pogba training with Juve while Chelsea rules Kante out until February

Kante’s not going to Qatar, but Pogba has a real chance

With the World Cup looming in just a few weeks, France got some extremely mixed news on Tuesday regarding the status of two star midfielders.

On one hand, there’s the negative: Chelsea confirmed reports that N’Golo Kante will not be fit in time for the tournament, as the indefatigable midfielder underwent surgery for a hamstring issue.

“N’Golo Kante has undergone an operation on his hamstring injury,” read a club statement from Chelsea. “The midfielder visited a specialist with the club’s medical department to explore the options for his rehabilitation approach and it was mutually agreed for N’Golo to have surgery to repair the damage. Following a successful operation, N’Golo is now expected to be sidelined for four months.”

That timetable definitively rules Kante out of Qatar 2023, with a mid-February return for Chelsea more likely.

It’s not all bad for fans of Les Bleus, though. Paul Pogba joined Juventus’ training session for the first time since undergoing surgery on his meniscus in September.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cj3Fc_ioYXG/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=33a1b16c-a843-4e52-b31d-1abf7ade892c

It’s a rapid turnaround after Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri had previously said the club didn’t expect Pogba to be ready to play until January. Pogba had initially chosen a non-surgical regimen to keep the World Cup door open, but lasted through just two training sessions before it became clear his knee wasn’t quite right.

There is an open question about exactly how soon Pogba will be able to play in a Juventus match, but simply being in training at this point already puts the 29-year-old well ahead of the game. Pogba likely has three weeks or so to prove himself fit enough for Didier Deschamps to call on him as part of France’s 26-man squad.

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N’Golo Kante is out of the World Cup and we are sad

It’s a major blow to France and anybody who enjoys good vibes

In a major blow to France and anybody who enjoys good vibes, N’Golo Kanté looks like he’s going to miss the World Cup.

The do-everything midfielder has suffered a setback to his troublesome hamstring injury, with ESPN and L’Equipe among the outlets reporting that he’s out three months, ending his World Cup hopes.

“It’s a setback so it’s not good news but, anything other than that at this stage, I can’t give you anything more,” Chelsea manager Graham Potter said on Friday. “Historically there are things which have happened which is a concern, so we need to get to the bottom of that.”

Kanté was the lynchpin of France’s World Cup triumph in 2018, and his absence for his country’s title defense is a bitter blow — especially with another key midfielder, Paul Pogba, a major doubt for the tournament as well.

There is no player in the world like Kanté, both for his ability to seemingly be everywhere on the field and his ability to retain the humility of a lower-league player despite being one of the best in the world.

Perhaps that comes from Kanté’s upbringing as a lower-league player. He was signed by Leicester from Ligue 2 side Caen in a move that drew little fanfare (he didn’t even get his own BBC article when he was signed!).

Even after a big-money move to Chelsea, Kanté kept driving his Mini Cooper. He apologizes to opposing fans for beating their teams and even takes some up on their invitation to dinner. Even after the World Cup triumph he played such a big part in, Kanté was too shy to actually grab the trophy.

Since we won’t be seeing any in Qatar, here are three minutes of Kanté smiles. We are really *sniff* going to miss you N’Golo!

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