N’Golo Kante withdrawn from France team before kickoff
Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante was forced to withdraw from France’s starting line up against Iceland in the European qualifier with Moussa Sissoko lined up as a late replacement. The Frenchman was originally part of the starting line up in Reykjavik and also took part in the warm-up.
Sky Sports report says N’Golo Kante was withdrawn shortly before kickoff and Tottenham midfielder Moussa Sissoko replaced him, with no official reason given for this late change in the team. France went onto win the game 1-0 thanks to an Olivier Giroud’s penalty and reports have started emerging that Kante had to be withdrawn due to an injury concern. The French World cup winner has been forced to miss games for club and country due to injuries in recent months and he even missed a large majority of Chelsea’s pre-season training due to knee problems and issues with his hamstring.
Once he was able to put his niggles aside he returned to the Chelsea team but his return was short-lived as he succumbed to a sprained ankle injury keeping him out for a month. He missed 4 games for Chelsea and also two Euro qualifiers for France. His recurring injuries means he hasn’t fully settled in the new season and needs time to adapt to the Chelsea coach Frank Lampard’s tactics. Kante is known for his unbelievable stamina and the ability to run miles throughout the game but due to the injuries his performance levels have dropped posing sufficient danger.
Hamstring problems have affected him the most as he has missed a total of 55 days of footballing action in past 2 years. Frank Lampard is aware of Kante’s repetitive injury and doesn’t want to push him to the extremes and cause more damage to his 28 year old midfielder. It remains to be seen whether he will be available for France's next game against Turkey at the Stade de France on Monday. The top two teams in the group go head-to-head after Everton striker Cenk Tosun scored a late winner for Turkey as they beat Albania 1-0 in Istanbul.
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