Kante, Abraham, Loftus-Cheek - Latest Chelsea injury news and potential return

Chelsea and the rest of the Premier League are still waiting to see when football might return to England.

Next week there is set to be another meeting to take a step forward on the decision on if the league could come back soon and complete the 2019/20 campaign.



While it has been frustrating that there hasn't been any football, it has at least given some of Chelsea's players the chance to recover from several injuries.

And that is something which Blues boss Frank Lampard is pleased to have over the course of this break.


"Yeah we had quite a few of those going into when we finished playing recently," he said on BT's Early Kick Off show. "I think N'Golo Kante is a great example. Obviously he played four or five incredible seasons in succession.

"He’s been used quite rightly by his managers a lot.

"But this season he has only about 40 percent of our game and even then I have felt for him. I have really felt for him.

"He’s been a huge miss for us but looking forward, whenever a restart comes, we want to get him in the best shape.

"We want to get Ruben Loftus-Cheek who has missed the whole season in his best shape.

"So we have had slightly different plans for them, but they have been scuppered in what we have had to recently because health comes first."

So how is it looking for the Blues players who are looking to get back to fitness?

Ruben Loftus-Cheek

It has been a frustrating 2019/20 season for Ruben Loftus-Cheek as he has spent the entire campaign recovering from his Achilles’ tendon rupture.

After a few set backs, the 24-year-old was so close to making a full recovery before the season was suspended.

The midfielder played three games for the U23s, two behind closed doors and getting 90 minutes in the PL2.

Loftus-Cheek had been on the bench for a couple of first team games, however didn’t make an appearance.

When football does return, match fitness will be the only thing stopping him from being more involved in the first team.

Christian Pulisic

Christian Pulisic had gone through a decent period of play, however he picked up his injury and hasn’t played since New Year’s Day.

Like Loftus-Cheek, the American was on his way back and had played 60 minutes in a behind-closed-door friendly at Cobham.

It was expected that the 21-year-old was going to be back involved, however the suspension of football has given him even more time to rest.

Pulisic has certainly been keeping fans entertained with his regular Tik Tok videos throughout the lockdown.

N’Golo Kante

It has been a difficult year for N’Golo Kante, as he has never really been able to fight off the injuries that he has suffered dating back to the end of last season.

The 29-year-old has only been able to start 16 Premier League games, and Lampard has been unable to really get the best out of him.

However, the stop in play might have come at a good time for the World Cup winner. Now he has had the chance to rest and get himself completely over the injuries, being ready for the end of the season.

The hope will be that he can properly recover ahead of the next campaign and Chelsea fans can see the real best out of him again.

"We obviously need N'Golo Kante in our team, he is one of the best players in the world and I knew that before I became manager of Chelsea," Lampard added.

"We unfortunately haven’t been able to have him much this year, but going forward of course we want him fit and raring to go.”




(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)



Callum Hudson-Odoi

Callum Hudson-Odoi missed the beginning of the season as he continued to recover from his own Achilles’ tendon rupture that he suffered at the end of the previous campaign.

However, the 19-year-old has had some set-backs himself over the course of the season, starting seven Premier League games and making another ten appearances off the bench.

Hudson-Odoi also was the Chelsea player who tested positive for coronavirus, with the rest of the squad moving into self-isolation.

However, the winger is fully recovered from the virus and has been posting videos of himself working out and being ready for football’s return.

Tammy Abraham

Having scored 13 Premier League goals so far, Tammy Abraham would have been hoping for a strong end to the campaign to fire the Blues to the top four.

However, the 22-year-old suffered an ankle injury while playing against Arsenal and hadn’t fully recovered.

Olivier Giroud stepped into his place and performed well for the club, scoring a couple of goals and linking well with the other players.

However, the break came at a good time for Abraham who has also posted videos of himself going for runs and being ready for when football eventually returns.

Marco van Ginkel

The Dutchman has been so unlucky with his injuries throughout his time at Chelsea, and he had to have more surgery in 2019.

Van Ginkel is finally on the mend and used Stamford Bridge during the lockdown to train and get back to fitness.

However, his contract runs out this summer and it is unlikely that the midfielder will be featuring for the Blues next season.