N’Golo Kante has been forced to withdraw from the France camp ahead of Monday’s Nations League clash with Croatia.
The Chelsea midfielder picked up a knee injury in training, ending his season on a disappointing note.
The French Football Federation confirmed: “N’Golo Kanté has withdrawn from the squad due to knee pain.”
Kante, heralded as one of the most durable players in the Premier League after a meteoric rise following his move to Leicester City in 2015, has suffered for much of the campaign.
While usually a nailed-on starter every week, the 31-year-old missed 16 games last time out as Chelsea saw their title challenge collapse.
Last month, manager Thomas Tuchel talked of the need to keep the Frenchman fit, hailing the fact his team even managed to finish third in the Premier League as a “miracle” having missed such a key player for much of the campaign.
The timing of this Nations League break has come under severe criticsm of late.
Wales star Gareth Bale called for the game’s governing bodies to protect players when it comes to the workload, predicting “consequences in the long term” should the relentless schedule continue.
“They need to look after players, without the players there is no product,” said Bale.
“There will be consequences in the long term, people’s bodies can’t deal with that kind of calendar year after year.
“Something has to change, the people at the top of the game have to do something, but unfortunately money comes into it.
“It’s a business at the end of the day, but for player welfare the money needs to be overlooked.”
