Chelsea might be without key player for FA Cup final

Chelsea have suffered a major setback ahead of this weekend's FA Cup final. The Blues might go into the final without their star midfielder N'Golo Kante. The French midfielder also missed Chelsea's home game against Arsenal in midweek.

After missing the game against Arsenal, Kante is now a major doubt for Chelsea's FA Cup final clash against his former side Leicester City. Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel revealed that Kante is suffering from an Achilles injury, which kept him out of the squad that faced the Gunners.

Thomas Tuchel shares N'Golo Kante injury update ahead of FA Cup finalhttps://t.co/uYR3ZZ3RHk

— The Sun Football ⚽ (@TheSunFootball) May 13, 2021

Chelsea unsure about N'Golo Kante's availability for the FA Cup Final

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is unsure if midfielder N'Golo Kante will feature in the FA Cup final. The Achilles problem is still restricting the player, casting doubts over Kante's involvement at Wembley.

Speaking with SI.com, Tuchel had the following to say on Kante's injury after their defeat to Arsenal:

"N’Golo was left out for pain management. He has pain in the Achilles and he suffers from that. There was no chance he could play because we are without Mateo Kovacic too. Not having N’Golo on the bench is a huge blow for us in terms of intensity and attitude.”

Kante has had another stellar season with Chelsea. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

N'Golo Kante wasn't the only player left out by Thomas Tuchel against Chelsea. German defender Antonio Rüdiger also was left out of the squad. Tuchel revealed that he left out Rudiger as a precautionary measure.

"For Rudiger, we were at risk of overload and injury. We lost already Andreas Christensen so there was no chance I could take the risk now to have two central defenders out. The same with Timo Werner," explained Tuchel.

So Kante was left out by Tuchel for #CFC v #AFC due to injury after all. Speaking to the 5th Stand app, he said: “N’Golo (was left out) for pain management. He has pain in the achilles and he suffers from that. There was no chance (he could play) because we miss Kovacic (too).”

— Simon Johnson (@SJohnsonSport) May 12, 2021

N'Golo Kante has been one of Chelsea's most important players this season. The Frenchman's performances have also gone up a notch after Chelsea replaced Frank Lampard with Thomas Tuchel.

Kante has played 29 times in the Premier League this season and has notched up a couple of assists along the way. Kante's presence allows flamboyant players like Mason Mount and Kai Havertz to drift further up the pitch.

Chelsea will be hoping to have N'Golo Kante back for Saturday's FA Cup final against Leicester City as Thomas Tuchel looks to win his first trophy as Chelsea manager. The German manager and his Chelsea side will then travel to Porto to face Manchester City in the Champions League final.