Kante laid low due to thigh injury

France manager Dider Deschamps has said that Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante will not be risked in Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier against Belarus due to his thigh injury.

The holding midfielder suffered the injury in France’s 1-0 win over Bulgaria on Saturday, with the full extent of the injury as yet unknown.

"No, I can't count on him for the next game," Deschamps said. "When you go out with a muscular issue - it's something behind his thigh."

France beat Bulgaria courtesy of a Blaise Matuidi goal after three minutes, but struggled for large period after Kante was withdrawn on 34 minutes, something Deschamps also acknowledged.

"N'Golo had a crucial part to play, obviously," he said. "After N'Golo's injury, Adrien Rabiot came on in the same role, maybe not with the same quality as N'Golo.

"N'Golo's injury perhaps disturbed us. It's not something against Adrien, but just the fact that we found ourselves short of strikers after N'Golo came off." 

Should France beat Belarus on Tuesday they will win Group A and qualify for the World Cup without the need for a play-off, meaning they can perhaps cope without Kante in the short term; Chelsea, however, will be more anxious over the extent of the damage, with vital ties in the Premier League and Champions League in October against Crystal Palace, Roma, Watford, Everton and Bournemouth.

You can watch all of Chelsea’s Champions League campaign on the eir Sport package. Antonio Conte’s side will face Atletico Madrid, Qarabag and Roma in Group C.

Image: Getty/Michael Regan.

eir Sport channels are available across the eir Vision, Sky and Vodafone TV platforms as well as on the eir Sport app. All 7 channels in the eir Sport pack are available for free if you are a residential eir broadband customer.