Please register to access this content.
To continue viewing the content you love, please sign in or create a new account
Dismiss
This content is for our paying subscribers only

Qatar World Cup 2022 News & Views

France lose key midfielder Kante after hamstring surgery

Hopes of representing his country at the World Cup next month are over



Chelsea's French midfielder N’Golo Kante will miss the Qatar World Cup.
Image Credit: AP

Paris: France international N’Golo Kante has been ruled out of the World Cup finals after undergoing an operation on a hamstring injury, his Premier League club Chelsea said.

The midfielder, who played a pivotal role in Les Bleus’s winning campaign in 2018, suffered a setback in the final stages of his recovery last week and has now been ruled out for four months after the surgery.

Kante’s early season has been marred by the hamstring problem that has now ruled him out of selection for the Nov. 20-Dec. 18 World Cup in Qatar.

The 31-year-old has only featured in two Premier League games and played a total of 175 minutes this season.

“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,” Chelsea said in a statement.

Advertisement

Vital player

Kante has been a vital player for Chelsea since his move from Leicester City in 2016 and equally important for France, having earned 53 caps.

Coach Didier Deschamps had warned that he would not pick any player who would not be fit for the start of the tournament.

He now faces some tricky choices before naming his squad on Nov. 9 as another key midfielder, Paul Pogba, is a doubt after the Juventus player underwent knee surgery last month.

France were drawn in Group D with Australia, Denmark and Tunisia.

Advertisement