Chelsea face Arsenal in the Europa League final on Wednesday night, and there is reportedly still hope that N’Golo Kante can feature.
The Blues secured a top-four finish in the Premier League this season, and so their priority is to end the campaign with a trophy to show for their efforts.
In contrast, having missed out on the top four, Arsenal must win to secure a return to the Champions League next year, and so it promises to be a thrilling encounter between the two English sides.
Both Maurizio Sarri and Unai Emery will be desperate to be as close to full strength as possible given the magnitude of the encounter, but Chelsea suffered a blow this past week as Kante suffered a knee injury in training which raised serious question marks over his involvement.
However, as noted by the Evening Standard’s Simon Johnson in his tweet below, the Frenchman has travelled with the Chelsea squad to Baku, but there is still no confirmation as to whether or not he will be fit enough to feature.
In turn, the Blues will be desperately hoping that he can prove his fitness in the next 24 hours, but if there is any element of doubt, then Sarri will surely avoid the risk and leave him out of his starting line-up at least as he can ill-afford to get such an important call wrong.
On the other hand, Kante will be desperate to play and it be a huge blow for all concerned if he is forced to miss out, and so it’s more than likely Chelsea will give him every possible opportunity to recover in time before making an announcement on his availability.
The 28-year-old has made 52 appearances in all competitions, thus proving that he has been a pivotal figure for Sarri this season.
#Kante's injury isn't as bad as first feared and he has travelled to #Baku with the rest of the #cfc squad. Still doesn't mean he will be fit to start on Wednesday though. Could be big decision for #Sarri to make. https://t.co/CSjN5QVqIH
— Simon Johnson (@sjstandardsport) May 27, 2019
