Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante has revealed his delight at finally getting back into the team following an injury spell he admits was not easy to deal with.
The Frenchman played the full 90 minutes in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge after recovering from an ankle problem.
The midfielder has been struggling with injury issues since the end of last season, when he sprained his knee and was a doubt for the Europa League final, which he eventually played in.
The former Leicester star suffered more problems during pre-season and has had a stop-start season until now due to ankle issues.
Kante admits that he is feeling happy to get finally get back into the team as a lot of hard work went in, in order to get his fitness back and get on the pitch for Chelsea.
He admits that the whole process has been frustrating and it has not been the easiest time of his career because of the stop-start nature of the season.
But he is hopeful that the problems are behind him and he can completely concentrate on playing regularly again.
Asked about playing the full 90 minutes against Palace, the Chelsea midfielder told French sports daily L’Equipe: “It made me happy as it took a lot of work to come back.
“Already at the end of last season I was injured and I was uncertain to play in the Europa League final against Arsenal.
“I spent my holidays with the desire to resume but I was still not ready and started the season with a sprained ankle.
“I stopped playing, then resumed and then again stopped playing, it took a long time.
“I hope that the problems are behind me and that I will be able to play consistently.
“I had to deal with a sprained knee and a sprained ankle that was difficult to treat.
“These were not the easiest months of my career but I have now switched to being happy about my comeback.”
Kante has featured just seven times across three competitions for Chelsea this season.
