Chelsea accept they may have to restart the Premier League season without N’Golo Kante. The Frenchman was at the club’s Cobham training HQ on Thursday but only for his second coronavirus test of the week.
Kante skipped training on Wednesday because of his fears over the pandemic. But Chelsea are putting no pressure on the World Cup winner, who is keeping in regular contact with boss Frank Lampard.
Kante has been granted compassionate leave and there is no date on which he is expected back. It is believed he has concerns over the safety of rejoining his team-mates while the country remains in lockdown.
Chelsea are leaving it up to Kante to decide when he feels comfortable enough to come back - and it is not known when he will.