Chelsea 's resurgence under Graham Potter continued over the weekend, but the fixtures are continuing to come thick and fast.
The Blues were made to work hard for the three points against Aston Villa, with Mason Mount scoring his first club goals of the season. There will be no time to relax, though, with a London derby against Brentford on the horizon.
Potter's team will have to get past the Bees without N'Golo Kante, and the Frenchman will be missing for longer than that. Kante's injury update headlines the latest news lines from west London, while there has also been a fresh transfer setback.
Blues' hand forced by Kante news
N'Golo Kante will miss the upcoming World Cup, Chelsea have confirmed, impacting the club's plans as the former Caen man enters the final few months of his contract. The French international was a regular for Les Bleus in Russia in 2018, but has struggled for fitness this season.
The former Leicester City man was involved in the first two games of the season under Thomas Tuchel, with Chelsea beating Everton and drawing with Tottenham Hotspur. However, injury has meant he has yet to feature under new manager Graham Potter, and he has now suffered a fresh setback.
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“N’Golo Kante has undergone an operation on his hamstring injury,” a statement from the club read. “The midfielder visited a specialist with the club’s medical department to explore the options for his rehabilitation approach and it was mutually agreed for N’Golo to have surgery to repair the damage.”
Higuain in tears as retirement confirmed
Former Chelsea striker Gonzalo Higuain was in tears on the pitch as he was unable to secure a fairytale end to his career. His Inter Miami side were beaten by NYCFC in the Major League Soccer play-offs, with the MLS Cup holders running out 3-0 winners.
Higuain had confirmed earlier in the season that the current campaign would be his last. However, he helped Inter Miami reach the play-offs with a run of seven goals in the last six regular season games.
The Argentina international, who spent time at Real Madrid and Juventus during a long career, played for Chelsea under Maurizio Sarri in the 2018-19 season. He scored five goals in 14 Premier League games for the club as they finished third, and was an unused substitute in the Europa League final.
Lampard issues Gordon update
Everton manager Frank Lampard has dealt Chelsea a fresh blow over summer transfer target Anthony Gordon. The England under-21 winger was the subject of a £50m bid from the Blues, but remained at Goodison Park and has been heavily involved this term.
Lampard, who played for and managed Chelsea before moving to Merseyside, remains a fan of the youngster. And he is in no hurry to entertain fresh bids for one of his team's prized assets.
"He is our player, he will remain that for a long time, and I think we showed that with our intention in the summer," Lampard said. "He’s got two and a half and a bit more left…so I remind him of that sometimes!"
