Key Chelsea midfielder set to miss crucial 5 games for Chelsea

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N’Golo Kante lasted 85 minutes on the pitch against Tottenham, before being subbed off after pulling his hamstring.

Kante had an injury-ravaged season last campaign, and Thomas Tuchel is unhappy to lose him so early in the season.

Tuchel said after the game against Spurs: “It seems like a muscle injury, a hamstring. He said he feels it pretty strong, so not good.”

According to reports in the Telegraph, Kante is expected to miss at least three to four weeks with the injury, but more will be known once he received the results of an MRI scan.

Chelsea will be hoping to have Kante back for the clash with Liverpool on September 18.

The 31-year-old midfielder is expected to miss the coming games against Leeds United, Leicester City, Southampton, West Ham and Fulham.

These games are winnable games on paper, but football matches are won on the pitch. Chelsea need to win these matches to keep up with Manchester City as the table tends to take shape after the first ten games.

Speaking ahead of the start of the season, Thomas Tuchel admitted Kante was Chelsea’s key player, and maintained that the France international was needed for the bulk of the season.

Tuchel said: “We need N’Golo Kante to have more minutes on the pitch.

“He is one of our key figures and the key players need to be on the pitch, otherwise they cannot be key players, so this is how we are handling things at the moment.”