"He is in the squad" - Graham Potter confirms Chelsea star is back from injury
Chelsea have been handed a major injury boost ahead of their Premier League clash against Everton later today (March 18).
The Blues will be hoping to continue their newly found form under Graham Potter when they welcome Everton to Stamford Bridge after having won their last three games.
Meanwhile, the Blues will have French star N'Golo Kante available for the clash against the Toffees. The head coach has confirmed that the midfielder will be in the squad for the game.
Graham Potter has confirmed that N'Golo Kante is fit enough to be named in Chelsea's squad to face Everton this evening.
🚨 Graham Potter has confirmed that N'Golo Kante is fit enough to be named in Chelsea's squad to face Everton this evening.
#CFC
(@ChelseaFC) https://t.co/aibUXjzImz
Kante has been a long-term absentee for Chelsea this season after picking up a hamstring injury in his side's 2-2 draw against Spurs earlier this season.
The 31-year-old midfielder was forced to have surgery on his injured hamstring in October and, as such, was ruled out for four months. The surgery made him miss the 2022 FIFA World Cup with France in Qatar.
Now back from injury, Blues fans could get the opportunity to watch Kante play against Everton, pending on Potter's decision to either use him or not.
Speaking on the player's availability for their home game against Everton later today, as seen on the club's official website, Potter said:
"N'Golo is back for the weekend. He is in the squad, which is fantastic news for everybody. We have missed him a lot with his injury, it is great that he is back.
He continued by stating that the Blues would have to be careful in how they ease Kante back into the team as he has been out for quite some time.
In his words:
"We must be careful with him as he has been out for a while but nevertheless delighted he is back in the squad. We are looking forward to seeing him back on the pitch!''
N’Golo Kante agreeing to knee slide if he scores in his first game back 🤣
https://t.co/cPZZQ4JC3c
Kante has so far played just 174 minutes of football action for Chelsea this season, making only two appearances. He did, however, feature in the Blues' 1-0 win against Everton earlier this season.
It's left to be seen if he will take any part in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge later today. The Blues will also be hoping to secure a double over the Toffees this season.
Graham Potter rules out Mason Mount for Chelsea and England
While the Blues will welcome Kante back from injury against Everton, they will be without star midfielder Mason Mount.
Head coach Potter revealed that the English international is yet to fully recover from a public bone injury, thus ruling him out of both Chelsea and England games. In his words, as seen on the club's official website, he said:
'‘He's never been available as far as I am aware. He needed a bit of time for his injury to settle down which has pretty much ruled him out of England. Whether that meant they needed a bit of time to double-check that, I don't know.
He continued:
"I don’t think there is anything untoward at all. It's more that sometimes with these things he can be named and yet there's still a couple of days where things can be changed. But from my selection perspective he wasn't available for the weekend."