France midfielder N’Golo Kante will miss the World Cup finals after being ruled out for four months

France and Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante has been ruled out of the World Cup after undergoing a hamstring surgery that will see him out for four months.

The 31-year-old sustained the injury in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham on August 14, and was slowly on his way back to full fitness at the time.

However, Kante had a major setback after the injury worsened during a training session last week and has since undergone surgery.

That means he will now miss next month’s World Cup and is expected to be out until late February. The news is casting a shadow over the midfielder’s future with his Chelsea contract expiring this summer and no new deal agreed.

The 31-year-old sustained the injury in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham on August 14

A Chelsea statement read: “N’Golo Kante has undergone surgery for a hamstring injury.

The midfielder visited a specialist in the club’s medical department to explore options for his rehabilitation approach and it was mutually agreed that N’Golo would have surgery to repair the damage.

“After a successful operation, N’Golo is now expected to be sidelined for four months.”

Chelsea confirmed in a statement that the French player will be out of action four months after the surgery

The decision to have the surgery came after Chelsea manager Graham Potter, who has not been able to contact Kante since taking charge at Stamford Bridge, admitted last week there were long-standing concerns about the midfielder’s fitness record – he has missed 57 games since the 2019 Europa League final. .

“Historically, there are things that have happened that are a concern, and we need to find out the truth,” Potter said.

It’s a setback in the final stage of his rehabilitation, which is worrying again. But all we can do is get the right diagnosis and the right advice and then try to help him get back to full fitness and enjoy football.

Kante, whose contract with Chelsea expires next summer, has 53 caps for France and was part of the World Cup winning team in 2018.

Confirmation of Kante’s diagnosis comes two days after Chelsea team-mate and England full-back Rhys James was ruled out for up to eight weeks with a knee problem, which means he, too, will miss the World Cup finals that kick off in Qatar on November 20.