Chelsea FC last played a match this past Wednesday, a score draw with RB Salzburg in the UEFA Champions League. Their headliner of the weekend Premier League fixture with Liverpool at Stamford Bridge this past weekend was postponed due to security concerns ahead of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral today. The previous weekend’s fixture, a southwest London derby against Fulham, was cancelled out of respect to the monarch’s passing. This means that their last league fixture actually staged was back on Sept. 3, when they, along with the officials, defeated West Ham United 2-1.
That means by the time they play next, Oct 1 at Crystal Palace for yet another London derby, it will be almost a month (29 days) in between domestic fixtures.
It will have been 17 days since the squad has seen any action at all. With that in mind, let’s look at how Chelsea’s two player injury concerns, N’Golo Kante and Edouard Mendy, currently stand. (but first, you can check out today’s second edition of Chelsea news and notes over at this link)
N’Golo Kante (hamstring) is on the mend now. He’s convalesced enough that he’s been able to return to individual training. The Evening Standard spotted the French midfielder taking this step forward over the weekend.
This means he might resume training soon, and if that’s the case, he might actually be in contention to make the next match day squad. It is possible he could see some minutes off the bench in one of the early October fixtures.
There was only one other player who missed training ahead of the Salzburg match was Edouard Mendy (patellar tendon issue in his knee), and he was indeed ruled out of the Euro fixture.
“Eddie will miss the game,” newly minted coach Graham Potter said. “Eddie has responded well, but his knee has bothered him for a bit. I don’t think it’ll be long, but we need to give him some time.”
In other words, there is no time table on his return, but it looks like he might be in contention, possibly, once the internationals are over as well.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.