Chelsea get no reassurance over N'Golo Kante as Didier Deschamps confirms midfielder will miss France's final qualifier

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Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante has a muscular injury 'behind his thigh', according to France head coach Didier Deschamps.

Kante went down with a suspected hamstring injury during France's World Cup qualifying win over Bulgaria. The industrious midfielder limped out of the game on the half-an-hour mark following a challenge from Spas Delev and was eventually replaced by Adrien Rabiot.

Deschamps has now confirmed that Kante will not be able to play in their final group game against Belarus, with Rabiot continuing to deputise.

N'Golo Kante has a muscular injury 'behind his thigh', according to Didier Deschamps

The Chelsea player appears to grasp his hamstring as he talks to manager Deschamps

Kante is comforted by a coaching staff member as he is substituted for Adrien Rabiot 

'No, I can't count on him for the next game,' he told a news conference. 'When you go out with a muscular issue... it's something behind his thigh.' 

'N'Golo had a crucial part to play, obviously,' he said. 'After N'Golo's injury, Adrien Rabiot came on in the same role, maybe not with the same quality as N'Golo.

'N'Golo's injury perhaps disturbed us. It's not something against Adrien, but just the fact that we found ourselves short of strikers after N'Golo came off.' 

The Kante injury will have set alarm bells ringing at Stamford Bridge, where is plies his trade with the Blues.

The injury was caused following a lunging tackle from Bulgaria midfielder Spas Delev

Kante has played every minute of Chelsea's Premier League campaign so far this season and was the standout performer as they won the title in the previous campaign.

His performances were enough to secure him the PFA Player of the Year award while he also became the first player in Premier League history to win the title in successive seasons with two different clubs following his triumph with Leicester in 2016.

Only a scan can reveal to full extent of Kante's injury with the length of recovery time differing hugely depending on the severity. A strain or Grade 1 tear may take only days to heal while a Grade 2 can take weeks and a Grade 3 possibly months.

Chelsea next play Crystal Palace away in their next Premier League tie.