Thomas Tuchel believes Chelsea must consider N'Golo Kante's poor injury record when they discuss a new contract with the France midfielder.
Kante has been crucial to Premier League, Champions League and Europa League wins since arriving at Chelsea in 2016, earning a reputation as one of the world's finest midfield enforcers.
But the 2018 World Cup winner has been beset by injury woes in recent seasons, and was ruled out for "several weeks" after suffering a hamstring injury ahead of last week's 3-0 defeat at Leeds United.
Kante made at least 34 Premier League starts in each of his first three seasons with Chelsea, but has failed to start more than 24 games in each of his last three full campaigns.
With the 31-year-old having entered the final 12 months of his contract with the club, Tuchel acknowledges his fitness record is a long-term concern.
"You have to consider everything that is on the table and on the table is his potential, on the table is his influence, and his quality," Tuchel said ahead of Saturday's home league clash with Leicester City.
"But also on the table, of course, is his age, his salary and his injury rate. From there you build a whole picture and try to find a solution."
Chelsea have taken four points from their first three games of the Premier League season, and sorely missed Kante's defensive discipline when they were torn apart at Elland Road last time out.
And Tuchel believes the midfielder's lack of availability makes it difficult for Chelsea to maintain a genuine title bid, adding: "This is a key question.
"We try to but it's much more difficult because you see the impact he has, you see the impact in the goals that we concede, the amount of goals we score, the amount of points that we have, the amount of goals he makes.
"He makes players simply better around him. He gives something that is very unique and don't forget, he also installs confidence that you cannot measure. That's why he is a key player.
"But for the key players, it is super important to be on the pitch and to have that impact and be in the rhythm.
"You can count the matches that he is missing, but what about the first two, three or four matches where he needs to re-find rhythm? Nobody is counting these matches, so maybe in real life it is even more than just the matches he is missing.
"He comes back for the first match from the bench and maybe a second from the bench, and then the third one still struggling with confidence and rhythm.
"This is basically the story and, yes, we have huge hopes we can turn things around, but this was a bad start."
Al-Ittihad pegged back as winless run rolls on
Mohamed Sherif scored late on as Al-Ittihad's winless run in the Saudi Pro League stretched to four games after a 1-1 draw with Al-Khaleej.
Al-Ittihad have endured a miserable title defence, and with just two games remaining, the highest the big-spending, PIF-backed club can finish is fourth.
Muhannad Al Shanqiti put them ahead on the stroke of half-time, yet despite having a further eight shots and accumulating 1.07 xG in the second half, Al-Ittihad could not add another.
Their profligacy proved costly in the 81st minute, with Egypt international Sherif snatching an equaliser for 11th-placed Al-Khaleej.
Al-Tai moved out of the relegation zone with a surprise 3-1 win over seventh-placed Al-Fateh, with Bernard Mensah scoring twice.
Al-Raed, meanwhile, claimed a 1-0 win at Al-Wehda.
Data Debrief: Kante the creator?
On the day he received a surprising France recall, N'Golo Kante created three chances for Al-Ittihad, leading the team.
On the flip side, Kante only attempted one tackle, with the midfielder showing a different side to his game, not that it proved fruitful for his team.
Kante a shock inclusion in France's Euro 2024 squad
N'Golo Kante has been named as a surprise inclusion in France's squad for Euro 2024.
Kante has not played for Les Bleus since 2022, but despite the long exodus from the squad, the Al Ittihad midfielder has been named in head coach Didier Deschamps' 26-man squad for the upcoming tournament in Germany.
The squad is headlined by Kylian Mbappe, who has plied his trade for Paris Saint-Germain since 2017 but looks set to move to Real Madrid in the upcoming window. Mbappe's PSG team-mate Bradley Barcola makes the squad for the first time.
Also making the journey to Germany will be Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and William Saliba, though Bayern Munich's Lucas Hernandez misses out through injury.
Among the notable exclusions are Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku and Crystal Palace's Michael Olise, who both miss out despite recently returning to fitness in the Premier League.
France will play two warm-up friendlies against Luxembourg and then Canada, before they kick off their Euro 2024 campaign against Austria on June 17. France will also face the Netherlands and Poland in the group stage as they look to reclaim the European Championships crown they lost to Italy in the 2020 edition.
France squad
Alphonse Areola (West Ham), Mike Maignan (Milan), Brice Samba (Lens); Jonathan Clauss (Marseille), Theo Hernandez (Milan), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), Ferland Mendy (Madrid), Benjamin Pavard (Inter), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich); Eduardo Camavinga (Madrid), Youssouf Fofana (Monaco), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico), N'Golo Kante (Al Ittihad), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Aurelien Tchouameni (Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain); Bradley Barcola (Paris Saint-Germain), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain), Olivier Giroud (Milan), Randal Kolo Muani (Paris Saint-Germain), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Marcus Thuram (Inter).
Ronaldo motivated to keep playing at top level
Cristiano Ronaldo has no intention of stopping as he says he is still motivated to compete with the "young lions" coming through in the game.
Ronaldo is reportedly considering signing a contract extension to keep him at Al-Nassr until June 2026, taking him past his 41st birthday.
The Portugal international has scored 42 goals in 41 appearances for the Saudi Pro League club this season, and he insists he is still motivated to keep going.
Speaking on the Whoop podcast, he said: "I feel proud to have this age and still compete at the highest level. It's great, and it gives me motivation to carry on.
"If you look at my career for the last 20 years, my level is high. If you are top for 20 years, it's unbelievable.
"I do that, and I continue to do that. For me, it's a big achievement."
Ronaldo has scored an incredible 891 goals in his career and is the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with 128 goals.
"My biggest motivation is to carry on," he added. "It's not easy to be at this level.
"To still push, to still motivate, to carry on, to score goals, to be in good shape, to compete with the young lions that are coming and that when they play against me, they want to show me that they are stronger and faster than me.
"You have to prepare very well, not just physically but mentally, too. This is the challenge.
"Talent without work is nothing and work without talent is nothing. They have to work together at the same time. I have both. I can't say that I have more of one than the other.
"Small details will make the difference. Consistency is the most difficult thing.
"Are you willing to do that? That's the main point, because everyone wants to be Cristiano, but doing it is difficult. Discipline is the most difficult thing."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
