https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/62174846
Chelsea: Thomas Tuchel on N'Golo Kante & Ruben Loftus-Cheek's tour absence
By Alistair Magowan - 15 July 2022
Manager Thomas Tuchel "doesn't blame" N'Golo Kante and Ruben Loftus-Cheek
for missing Chelsea's United States tour because of their vaccination
status.
Tuchel says the duo, who were unable to travel to the US as they are not
fully vaccinated, will be ready for the new season despite missing the
trip.
"We don't blame people and don't put the finger on them," said Tuchel.
The midfielders will miss a week of pre-season training with the squad in
Los Angeles and three friendlies. The Blues face Mexico's Club America in
Las Vegas on 17 July, Charlotte FC at their Bank of America Stadium on 21
July and Arsenal in Orlando on 23 July.
"There's a personal decision to take and both of them took their personal
decision," added Tuchel. "It doesn't matter if I understand it, if I like
it or, for the professional life, it's a disadvantage right now.
"We would have liked both of them here but once we knew, we needed to
provide the best solution, which is to provide training at Cobham on a
high physical level. They will be fit when we are back there."
Kante, 31, has struggled with a knee problem in the past two seasons and
missed key parts of the last Premier League campaign. Chelsea were top of
the table going into December, but fell behind Manchester City while Kante
was sidelined and never recovered their league position.
The France midfielder, who has a year left on his Chelsea contract, also
pulled out of his country's Nations League squad last month with a knee
injury.
Tuchel said Kante would be a "key figure" for the Stamford Bridge club
this campaign and believes pre-season training at Cobham tailored to his
needs will be beneficial.
But he will miss tactical sessions with his team-mates, with the 31-player
squad arriving back from the US two weeks before the new Premier League
season begins.
"N'Golo knows what pre-season is all about and for him especially it gives
us the possibility to build him up very individually," Tuchel added. "He
has coaches there in London who take care of him and he is integrated in
the Under-23 and Under-19 training so he also has team training.
"We need N'Golo to have more minutes on the pitch. He is one of our key
figures and the key players need to be on the pitch otherwise they cannot
be key players, so this is how we are handling things at the moment."
Both Kante and Loftus-Cheek played in a 4-2 win for a Chelsea XI against
Boreham Wood on Friday night.