Thomas Tuchel has been dealt with another blow after his Chelsea’s 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday [14 August]. The two London clubs contested a fierce game which saw a lot of bust ups between the players, as well as the managers. Tuchel and Antonio Conte had a spat twice during the game with the players and staff needing to intervene.
While Chelsea failed to win all three points, Tuchel has new headache to deal with from the aftermath of the game. His reliable midfielder N’Golo Kante has sustained a hamstring injury and looks set to miss the action for weeks to come. The Frenchman was taken off during the closing minutes of the game after he indicated pain in his hamstring. Tuchel has now provided an update on the same.
‘No good news’ as Thomas Tuchel delivers disheartening update on Kante
Kante started the game alongside his usual partner Jorginho in the midfield for the Blues. While he carried out his usual business for majority of the game, Kante had to be subbed off in the 84th minute. Loan returnee Conor Gallagher replaced the France international in the closing stages as he sat down on the pitch with his hand on his hamstring.
Thomas Tuchel, speaking into his post match presser revealed the issue with Kante and the seriousness of his injury. However, he had ‘no good news’, which will certainly disappoint the fans. Tuchel said: “It seems another muscle injury, the hamstring. He said he feels it pretty strong. So no good news.”
It seems Kante is having a tough time with injuries since he suffered multiple knocks last season. He had to miss 16 games during the 21/22 season due to knee and groin injuries. Now its the hamstring which tends to frustrate the 31-year-old as he could be sidelined for a long time. Moreover, with the World Cup not far away, Kante may face a race against time to be fit for the colossal tournament.
On the other hand, Kante now piles pressure on Thomas Tuchel who already has midfield casualties in his team. Mateo Kovacic has also missed the start of the season as he is nursing a knee injury. Tuchel issued on update on the Croat as well, stating: “[Kovacic] has issues with his knee, always a little bit of a reaction. We decided to take a step back and increase treatment time to reduce the stress that comes from training to have a normal reaction before we start again.”
Meanwhile, Gallagher who came on for Kante may have received a blessing in disguise. Tuchel who is keen to work with the youngster could now hand him regular game time in the absence of Kante. Ruben Loftus-Cheek too is an option for Tuchel to fill in the void created by Kante’s injury.