N’Golo Kante was allowed to miss the second day of Chelsea’s return to training due to safety concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Premier League teams have been returning to training in small groups this week, with Kante present at Cobham on Tuesday for Chelsea’s first session after testing negative for coronavirus. However, the French midfielder missed Wednesday’s session with the full backing of the club and manager Frank Lampard.
It is reported that Kante has lingering health concerns linked to coronavirus and the club will not pressure him to return until he is comfortable. The World Cup winner suffered a health scare in 2018 when he fainted in front of his team-mates at Chelsea’s training ground. He also lost his elder brother to a heart attack that same year.
Now it remains unclear at this stage when he will return to training.
Kante’s decision came after six people tested positive for Covid-19 following the first round of Premier League testing this week, including Burnley assistant manager Ian Woan and Watford defender Adrian Mariappa.
Mariappa was among three Hornets staff to test positive and the 33-year-old had no idea how he caught the virus.
Ngolo Kante has enjoyed remarkable success in the last five years. He guided Leicester City to their momentous Premier League title in 2016 and followed that historic season by winning another Premier League in his first season at Stamford Bridge a year later.
In 2018, he added the 2018 FA Cup and the 2019 Europa League to his trophy cabinet to go alongside his World Cup winners’ medal. Kante was crowned the 2016/17 Players’ Player of the Year and Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year. He has scored three goals and made 18 Premier League appearances this season for Chelsea.
