Chelsea suffer major injury blow after key man is ruled out of Arsenal showdown

Chelsea have suffered a major injury blow as N’Golo Kante is set to miss the Europa League final against Arsenal after picking up a knee injury in training, according to the Guardian.

The Blues take on Premier League rivals Arsenal in Azerbaijan on Wednesday night and Kante was due to start in the middle of the park after recovering from a hamstring injury that had kept him out in recent weeks.

The Frenchman had returned to full training last week and Maurizio Sarri was planning to have Kante available for the Europa League final in Baku but it seems those plans have now been dashed by this latest setback.

According to the Guardian, Kante twisted his knee while making a routine challenge during a practice game at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground on Saturday afternoon and limped off the pitch in some discomfort.

The midfielder will be further assessed by the Chelsea medical team to determine the full extent of the injury but the newspaper says Kante is expected to be ruled out of Wednesday night’s showdown with Arsenal.

Chelsea’s squad will fly out to Baku on Monday afternoon and it appears unlikely Kante will be on the plane with the rest of the first team so Sarri is going to have to come up with a solution quickly.

The news is the second significant blow Chelsea have received recently ahead of the final after Ruben Loftus-Cheek was ruled out for at least six months with an Achilles injury that he sustained in a charity match in Boston so Sarri’s options in midfield are limited.

Jorginho is certain to keep his place in the deep lying playmaker position and if Kante joins Loftus-Cheek on the sidelines then it looks like Ross Barkley will join Mateo Kovacic in the midfield three against Arsenal.

The Blues will also be without Antonio Rudiger in Baku as he’s out with a knee injury that he suffered against Manchester United late last month while Callum Hudson-Odoi is also on the sidelines with a serious Achilles injury.

It means Sarri will be without four important players if Kante does miss out as Chelsea look to end a frustrating campaign with some silverware with victory over Arsenal in midweek.